India vs England 2016-17: Talking points from the 3rd ODI

The curious case of Ashwin’s ODI form

There is a chance Ashwin might not make it into the starting XI for the Champions Trophy

Ravichandran Ashwin is undeniably India’s best spinner in Tests and T20Is. His records in those two formats speak for themselves but for some reason or the other, he hasn’t been able to replicate the same form in ODIs, where his struggle was evident in the third ODI.

After picking up three wickets in the second ODI, where he bowled much better, Ashwin went wicketless once again in the third ODI (like he did in the first). What was worse was that he was expensive once again. In each of his last five ODIs, he has conceded at least 60 runs whereas in the 100 ODIs before that, he had conceded over 60 runs only eight times.

In a format that is struggling to maintain relevance, the off-spinner is struggling to make up his mind about how to approach the game. In the first and third ODI, he tried to bowl negative lines in a bid to restrict the runs and didn’t succeed. But when he decided to attack in the second ODI, he picked up three wickets.

While it is true that he hasn’t played an ODI in over an year before this series, Ravindra Jadeja has shown no ring rust and has been economical as well. With the Champions Trophy in England and Mohammad Shami to come back to the side, India might have to drop Ashwin and play three pacers and a spinner in England.

With Yuvraj and Jadhav providing some handy options with the ball, Ashwin might have to improve or else face the axe from the ODI team.