IND vs AUS 2023: R Ashwin is very skillful, has got lot of tricky little variations, says Usman Khawaja

Australian opener Usman Khawaja feels Ravichandran Ashwin is very skillful and he has got a lot of tricky little variations. Ashwin is going to hold the key for India in the upcoming four-match Test series and Australia will be looking to keep him at bay.

Ashwin has scalped 89 wickets at a decent average of 31.48 in the 18 Tests he has played against Australia. He has snared 50 wickets at an impressive average of 23.16 in the eight Tests he has played against the Aussies in home conditions.

Ashwin is always a threat in the Indian conditions and his record against the left-hander is really impressive. The visitors have left-handers such as David Warner, Usman Khawaja, and Travis Head and it will be an interesting contest between them.

“Ashwin is a gun. He’s very skillful, he’s got a lot of tricky little variations, he uses the crease quite well too. If you asked me the same question when I was younger, I probably wouldn’t have been able to answer a lot of things because I didn’t really learn about how to face what off-spinners are doing,” Khawaja was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

The southpaw expects spin on the Indian pitches and feels it is going to be a tense battle against Ashwin. Khawaja feels if Australian batters can bat long against Ashwin, then the veteran off-spinner will be forced to make a few changes to his plans.

“But it’s one of those really good challenges. The wicket’s going to turn here at some point, whether day one, day three, or day four, and he’s going to be in the game and bowl a lot of overs. So it’s all about figuring out how I’m going to play against him, how I’m going to score runs against him, what he might do. If you bat a long time against him, he’s going to change his game plans against you,” Khawaja added.

“He’s not the kind of guy who’ll do the same thing over and over, he’s going to try to work you out. So I’m looking forward to it. Four Test matches is a long time, so hopefully I can do alright and score runs for my team, but you know what, it’s always fun. Subcontinent, playing against spin is some of the most fun you’ll have in terms of finding a way to get in and score runs, it’s quite rewarding,” Khawaja further said.

Ashwin has all the experience under his belt and he will look to make the most of it to trouble the Australian batters in favorable conditions. The first Test match will begin at Nagpur on February 9.