Looming Sunset Of The ‘Ravis’?

For Team India, It is critical that before the first of the Ravis (Ashwin & Jadeja) walks into retirement, more spin options be found. Lest the departure of both Ravis create a huge sunset moment for India’s test bowling attack.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja (Image Source: Google)

The hole that they will leave in the test team will be gaping and the entire bowling attack on home pitches could collapse into that hole. 

Transitions are always difficult, be it batting or bowling. When Ashwin made his debut, the batting line up comprised Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Yuvraj and Dhoni. A year later, Jadeja’s debut test saw Pujara and Kohli replace Dravid and Laxman, respectively. Dhoni was playing at number 6 and Jadeja came in at 7 – a transition had begun and it was massively facilitated by Jadeja’s batting capability. 

Into the trial and error of that transition period came a Pragyan Ojha, an Amit Mishra, a Piyush Chawla and a Jayant Yadav. Who does India have now? Kuldeep Yadav has played just 12 tests since making his debut way back in 2017, in which he has taken 53 wickets. The last time India played a test match, versus England in Dharamshala, Kuldeep was man of the match, in an attack that also had Ashwin and Jadeja. But who will partner Kuldeep, especially in home tests? At least two more spinners are required. 

One candidate will be Axar Patel, who has already played 14 tests, taking 55 wickets. However, while his first four tests fetched him 33 wickets, the last ten have yielded a very modest 22 only. He has never played a test outside the subcontinent – how will he fare in SENA, when domestic returns in the last ten tests have been so mediocre? Will Washington Sundar get another opportunity – at 24, he still has age on his side. Or will Ravi Bishnoi get a look in – but his recent form hasn’t been encouraging.

Somewhere in the domestic framework, Shahbaaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav and Jalaj Saxena are still plying their trade, but all three are between 34 and 37 years of age. For them too, the end is not far and a selection of any of them would be a step in the wrong digression. If the Ajit Agarkar led selection panel decided to dig deep into Ranji Trophy, one name that will come up for consideration will be that of Tamil Nadu’s R Sai Kishore. The 27 year old slow left arm bowler took 29 wickets in the 2022-23 Ranji season but came into his own in 2023-24 as the tournament’s highest wicket taker with 53 scalps.

India’s text test schedule involves two tests against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand at home, followed by a full series against Australia, on their soil. Perhaps the five tests at home will be the perfect opportunity to test young spinners while Ashwin and Jadeja are still around. Of course, the first effort will be to replace them as bowlers. Their shoes as all-rounders are a shade too big to be filled in a hurry. It is critical that before the first of the Ravis walks into retirement, more spin options be found. Lest the departure of both Ravis create a huge sunset moment for India’s test bowling attack.