Vagaries of format could upset Ravichandran Ashwin's apple cart

Ashwin was adjudged Man-of-the-Series in recently concluded Sri Lanka Test series

Is Ravichandran Ashwin the best off spinner in existence today? Irrefutably, according to Ravi Shastri. It's not that the world is blessed with a shoe store of his kind. There's one Nathan Lyon, and the duo continue to exchange the baton like a pair of legs in motion. Mark Craig is too nascent.

But the comparison doesn't make one twitch like a toad, like choosing between a Glenn McGrath, Courtly Ambrose or Wasim Akram might. The question doesn't risk pushing the cricket fraternity into a Cold War. It simply panders to the jingoism of Indian cricket fans.

However, the hyperbole isn't far from the truth. Ashwin has indeed evolved beyond recognition. Except for the old chestnut that longevity of one's consistency separates brass from gold at the Test level.

To maintain a stranglehold over batsmen around the world, Ashwin must remain in step with the virtues of patience and still more patience. Abstinence from the devilishly decadent debauchery of Twenty20s can fender instincts which have benefited him, and thus India, in Tests and ODIs to a smaller degree.

After all, Test victories are essentially hitched to the fortunes of the bowling unit. 20 wickets are a prerequisite for the captain to entertain thoughts of forcing a favourable result. Ashwin's metamorphosis laid the cornerstone for India's first overseas win since 2011.

A haul of 21 wickets at a seductive 18.09 was light years from the next best overseas performance by an Indian bowler in donkey's years. While there is merit in the theory that the conditions in Sri Lanka came gift wrapped for the off spinner, it's also worth noting that his predecessors, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, had shoddy records In the Island nation.

In fact, both legends were painfully slow off the block when globe-trotting. Kumble was rarely spoken of in the same vain as Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan till a breakthrough series in Australia, after a belated decade into International cricket.

It wasn't that he was infallible thereafter but was crowned the undisputed pharaoh of mortal men, who rely on subtler, acquired skills, rather than sorcery. In that respect, Ashwin hadn't fared too badly to begin with.

Bear in mind that his transformation wasn't as abrupt as recent results might reflect either. The seeds of change were sown back in 2013 when he was dropped from the side after failing to bowl India to victory at Johannesburg. India had dominated the Test from the outset, a consequence of a collective effort, except for Ashwin, who had lurked in the shadows.

He wasn't required hitherto. It is imperative to understand that outside the subcontinent, the spinner records a gradual ascendancy as the clock ticks by. And thus the second innings was to be his hour of reckoning, a test of whether he had learnt from previous failures in Australia.

A resounding 'no' resonated across the bull ring as his wickets column remained as arid as the Thar. South African batsmen milked him dry. He never allowed the durability of his plans to be tested either, digressing too quickly, all use and throw, highlighting again, the perils of excessive limited overs cricket.

An inevitable axe followed, which would have peeved him further considering that an out of character slow turner greeted a delighted Ravindra Jadeja at Durban. In retrospect, recognition would have dawned that potential wickets at Durban could only have been a temporary escape from reality.

A reality he was forced to face in light of an axe which lasted six Test matches. He had been bowling like a T20 specialist dressed up in whites.

Between his recall at Old Trafford six months onward and the culmination of his resurgence in a tangible form of wickets, Ashwin developed a profound understanding of his art. Akram was a staunch believer that bowlers enhance their skills on flatter pitches.

Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney were newly laid roads. Warne has long advocated the mastery of one's stock delivery, a blueprint designed only for Tests and ODIs. Ashwin was an embodiment of the two antediluvian principles, as his off spin came out of the closet. Results in Sri Lanka were a corollary.

So, Ashwin is bowling like a lucid dream, a fact India can feel smug about, a whisker away from a 72-day marathon against South Africa. But owing to a frenetical oscillation between the three formats, realms of form, class, greatness and the scales to judge the aforesaid converge.

As a result, the viewer, selectors and most importantly players themselves are frequently engulfed by a labyrinthine confusion. While a creamy transition from Tests to ODIs was the norm in the bygone era, T20s have disrupted the tectonic plates.

The advent of a third dimension has stressed greater emphasis on versatility. Combined with the requisite contrasting skills set, the unforgiving nature of T20's and a destructive South African batting unit to boot, Ashwin's apple cart could topple well before the Test series commences.