Ravichandran Ashwin starts preparations for West Indies tour

Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s most experienced spinner in the squad set to tour the West Indies has already started his preparations with the Jolly Rovers Cricket club. M Jayakumar, the coach of Jolly Rovers told TOI. "Ashwin was waiting for the formalities to conclude before commencing his training with Jolly Rovers. It is nice to have him back in the side he started playing".

Ashwin has moved from Vijay CC to Jolly Rovers in the TNCA League.

India will play four Test matches in West Indies starting from 21 July and the off-spinner wants to be in the best possible shape before the series. Ashwin also would want to make the most use of this time since he has been rested in the ongoing series against Zimbabwe. The spinner was seen training hard for almost three hours on various aspects of his bowling and fitness with Jayakumar.

The quality off-spinner will be the most crucial member of India’s squad touring West Indies. The current tri-series in West Indies, featuring the hosts, Australia and South Africa has seen pitches that spin a lot.

In four matches spinners from the three sides took 37 wickets which gives an indication as to how the pitches are going to behave in the upcoming tour of the West Indies .

Struggles overseas

Ashwin has played a pivotal role in India’s recent success. The off-spinner’s performances in the Indian subcontinent have been exceptional but he has failed to keep his performances up to the mark oversees. He took only seven wickets in the last Australia series (3 ODIs & 3 T20s) and was very expensive.

He had performed exceptionally well against South Africa and Sri Lanka in recent tests and was the main reason for India’s victory on both occasions. The off-spinner took 29 wickets in four Tests against SA and 21 wickets in three Test against Sri Lanka.

Even Kumar Sangakkara had a tough time with Ashwin in his last test series before retiring. Ashwin dismissed the classy left-hander four times in four innings, which is an incredible achievement, considering Sangakkara is one of the finest batsman ever.

Ashwin has been the go-to man for both the Test and the limited over’s captain, and has rescued India on many occasions by taking wickets at crucial times. After the South Africa series, Virat Kohli praised Ashwin’s aggressive mindset,

India’s Test captain was quoted saying, “Ashwin is a world-class spinner, he stepped up in a big way for us, even in Sri Lanka. He has been one of the main reasons why we are able to win back-to-back series. He is a consistent performer for us. It’s a pleasure to have someone like Ashwin in the side.”

Ashwin made his test debut against West Indies on 6 November 2011, and was adjudged Man of the Match. The elegant off-spinner was also the Man of the Series of the tournament and has become a mainstay for the Indian team in recent years.