Ashwin is a top all-rounder: Rhodes

The latest Indian cricketer to join the county bandwagon is Ravichandran Ashwin. The all-rounder was signed by Worcestershire and the Indian would play for the club in the business end of the county season. 

Ashwin, who replaces John Hastings as Worcestershire’s overseas player, would be the second Indian player after Zaheer Khan, whose stint with the club ended in 2006.

In an interaction with DTNext, the club’s Director of Cricket Steve Rhodes said zeroing on the Indian wasn’t a difficult choice. “Ashwin is one of the best spinners in the world and a capable Test batter at number six. In other words, he is a top all-rounder,” Rhodes said.

Replacing the injured Hastings, Rhodes said the club would be very careful in ‘using his services’. “Ashwin is a big asset in our promotion push. We are aware that he is with us for four games and we are aware not to overcook him. The stint would also benefit Ashwin as he can learn a lot by playing on different wickets and conditions,” he explained adding that the club’s specific plan for the all-rounder is to help it win games and gain promotion.

In an earlier interview, Ashwin stated the importance of playing county cricket. “I was mulling the option last year, even if it meant missing a few games here. I don’t really know how much of a window we have to play. We have limitations that we can’t play T20 cricket abroad. Most of the countries have allowed their players to play the IPL, CPL, BBL etc. and those guys do turn up richer with experience. We saw how Australia and England adapted to conditions here. I don’t know where it is going but that’s a direction I love to take,” Ashwin said.