In preparation for Australia’s next match against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, top batsman Marnus Labuschagne discussed his experiences with Ravichandran Ashwin. The top-order batter likened the third game against Ashwin to a game of chess, explaining how Ashwin had altered his bowling run in order to irritate him.
Labuschagne elaborated, saying the 36-year-old attempted to attack him while he was unprepared. When India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, got engaged, he even drew away at the last second many times before reporting it to umpire Joel Wilson.
What did Marnus Labuschagne say about Ravichandran Ashwin?
“He turned to a short run and I wasn’t watching because I had the rhythm of his run-up, so my routine stays to that rhythm. So I was like ‘I’m not facing up because I’m going to look down and then he’s going to bowl the ball’. I did it a few times, but just pulled away. Then Joel came down and said, ‘You have to face up when he’s ready’ and I said ‘happy to face up Joel, but he’s trying to bowl the ball before I’m ready’,” Labuschagne told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the Ahmedabad Test.
“It’s just the chess, the caginess, just trying to get you out of the rhythm of what he’s bowling. I credit him because I could sense the momentum of the game was shifted or potentially gone, but he’s so cagey and so good at the small things,” the 28-year-old added.
The Australian batter said he takes pleasure in competing against Ravichandran Ashwin. Marnus Labuschagne has praised what Ashwin attempts to do on the cricket field, calling it “excellent cricket” and “great theatre,” and he has said that this is the reason why he always seems to have a grin on his face.
