Guptil praises Ashwin's craftsmanship; says he seldom bowls bad balls

After four years of hiatus, one of the most prolific spinners in India, Ravichandran Ashwin made an impressive comeback to T20 cricket by taking two wickets for just 14 runs against Afghanistan. His 3 for 20 runs against Namibia showed that the Indian selectors had taken the wrong decision not to include him in the shorter format of the game.

But the international cricket fraternity knows Ashwin is a class bowler and can turn the match on his own. New Zealand batter Martin Guptil has expressed his feelings about the bowling cleverness of Ravichandran Ashwin.

Ashwin took two wickets when the Black Caps were in a good position. Perhaps Guptil knows it better and praised his craftiness during the post-match press conference. He was awe-struck by Ashwin's craftsmanship as a bowler.

"He is a class apart, wily bowler, he is always in control over his line and length. He seldom bowls bad balls. I do not remember him bowling many bad balls throughout his career, he is very difficult to get away. His change in pace is so subtle and well-controlled, he is just very hard to get away," Guptill said during the post-match press conference.


Ashwin has had a great impact on the first match of the T20I series against New Zealand on Wednesday, as he claimed 2-23 in his four overs. With the bowlers restricting New Zealand to 164/6 in their allotted overs, India rode on good batting by skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav to win the match by five wickets at Jaipur on Wednesday. -IANS