New Delhi: Former Australian hard-hitting opener Matthew Hayden lauded Ravichandran Ashwin’s recent performances with the ball but felt that Harbhajan Singh had to take more responsibility in his prime as he didn’t receive the support from the fast bowling unit as much as the Tamil Nadu spinner gets now.
Ashwin recently etched his name in history as he became the fastest to reach 300 Test wickets as he achieved the feat in 54 matches, surpassing the legendary Australian Dennis Lillee who had completed the achievement in 56 matches.
Having faced Harbhajan in his prime, Hayden has also seen Ashwin grow and mature as a spinner during his stint with IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.
He said, “I think stats often lie but having said that, some of the milestone show remarkable respect to Ravichandran Ashwin, who is fastest to 300 wickets in Test cricket. Even if he (Ashwin) plays for another five years, he would be remembered as one of the greats of his generation. His skill-set, like Harbhajan, is masterful but he is probably not as attacking off-spinner as Harbhajan was.”
He further compared the two bowlers with the kind of bowling attack they had as a support and said, “But then Ashwin doesn’t really need to be as attacking as Bhajji. His role within this side is well-defined by a slightly better fast bowling attack (as support cast) than what my generation was facing. You line-up Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and put Jasprit Bumrah into the mix with Jadeja as the second spinner as well. So Ashwin is playing his role and doing it successfully.”
He also went on to call Harbhajan a, ‘dominant bowler’ without whom, the Indians found themselves to be in trouble with the ball on most occasions.
He said, “Harbhajan I thought in his era was ‘the dominant bowler’ especially against Australia so if Bhajji wasn’t taking wickets, India were in trouble. I don’t think Venkatesh Prasad was a wonderful Test match bowler. I think Harbhajan was the lone role maker.
“With due respect, Zaheer Khan or Javagal Srinath were wonderful bowlers but I think they were less of a threat compared to guys that are there now,” explained Hayden.
However when asked to compare Virat Kohli and Steven Smith, the southpaw from Queensland said that both are destined for greatness in their own ways.
“Kohli, Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson are vastly different players and good thing about all these guys is that each one of them is stepping on greatness in their own unique ways along with Cheteshwar Pujara and his ‘Rahul Dravid like approach’ to Test cricket,” he said.
“Williamson’s backfoot play and ability to play the ball late in all conditions is something we haven’t seen in modern players. Kohli’s cover drive and ability to attack bowlers with quality running between the wickets and the manner in which he plays spin is unique.
“Now come to Smith with his unorthodox back-and-across type of approach – with that technique you might say he should not have achieved anywhere near what he is. The reality is that High Performance coaches should understand that there is not one right technique, most of it is between your left and right ear. These guys are great players as in their heads, they have got it spot on.”
When asked about an imaginary battle between Virat Kohli and Glenn McGrath’s challenging off-stump line, Hayden felt that “he would have found a way I think like all great players do.”
He said, “You can cast shadow over technique and everyone has their own flaws but reality is that they overcome those deficiencies with application and commitment. So Kohli would have done fine against Glenn I think.”
Kohli has had his share of troubles in England in 2014 where he was repeatedly dismissed trying to play deliveries outside the off-stump. Hayden said that he could relate to Kohli’s struggle because he himself never found his rhythm in England until that last tour of his where he got a hundred at The Oval.
“Having a moderate season in conditions like England (in 2014) might have been a good thing for Virat. He has learnt probably what he has to do next time round. I was in same boat as well as I was scoring 1000 runs in County cricket in England but during Test matches, I had a certain role to play,” he added further.
He also said that the key to succeeding in English conditions is to leave the ball.
“Well, it didn’t get me results in England, right through my career. It was one venue where I battled a bit because I too had an attacking strategy like Virat. He loves to hit the ball like all Indian players do. But in England, you have to leave the balls, build runs and hence wise the Pujaras or the Rahanes do well because, they leave a lot of deliveries. It’s a different mindset,” he said.