NEW DELHI: Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is adding a surprise leg-break to his already formidable bag of tricks but is convinced that the controversial ‘doosra’ cannot be bowled with a straight arm.
Ashwin wants to add more variety to his craft and sees nothing wrong in an off-spinner bowling an occasional leg-break.
“I always keep trying things,” the spinner told Times of India newspaper. I feel if a batsman can play a reverse sweep, I can also bowl leg-break.
“With that thought, I have been trying the leg-break and I think I have mastered it now. But I will be sure when I unleash one in a match situation and take the top of off-stump.
“The next one is probably the googly and the flipper, but I haven’t tried those,” said the spinner.
“Carrom ball is a proper knuckle ball and it can’t be bowled with an offspinner’s grip,” Ashwin said.
“It is a finger-spinning ball and you don’t use the wrist or elbow to bowl it... it’s like a legal leg-break. But I don’t think the doosra can be bowled without bending your arm, may be the topspinner but not the doosra.”
Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2016
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.