Brisbane: Cricket teams heading to India can breathe a little easier now. They won’t have to face a bowler who seems to show up just to take wickets effortlessly. R Ashwin has been a game-changer, using different angles, speeds, and delivery styles to secure his place among the legends of the sport.

Since his Test debut on November 6, 2011, Ashwin has been a key player in helping India achieve the best home record globally. With an incredible win/loss ratio of 5.222, touring India has become quite the challenge.

During this time, India has won 47 out of 65 matches, with nine draws and only nine losses. There are plenty of factors behind this success, including a period when Virat Kohli’s batting was at an all-time high, and everything else seemed to click perfectly.

The main reason for this wild turnaround was R Ashwin. The off-spinner, who announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday, racked up 303 wickets in those 47 home victories, boasting an impressive average of 18.16. In the nine matches India lost, his average climbed to 33.88. Those stats are mind-blowing and really showcase his brilliance.

Ashwin was the whole package. If he didn’t get you with his spin, he’d throw in some flight; if it wasn’t flight, he’d switch up the angle; and if that didn’t work, he might just hit you with a carrom ball. Every tour brought something fresh from him. His constant adjustments showed he was a guy on a quest for perfection, like a mad scientist in the lab.

But maybe change was just part of who he was. India’s captain Rohit Sharma shared a memory during his press conference on Wednesday about the first time he met Ashwin.

I’ve been playing cricket with Ash since we were under-17s. Back then, he was an opening batsman. A few years later, we all kind of went our separate ways. Then out of nowhere, I start hearing about Tamil Nadu’s R. Ashwin taking 5 wickets… then 7 wickets. I was like, who is this guy? I remember playing against him as a batsman, and now he’s this bowler racking up fifers. Eventually, we crossed paths again in international cricket, and we’ve been on this long journey together since 2010.

Teams would come to India ready to face one version of Ashwin, only to find a completely different one. His real talent lies in knowing exactly how to approach each batter. You can have all the tricks in the book, but if you don’t know when to pull them out, they’re pretty much pointless.

Ashwin would analyze videos and use his experience to really get into the heads of batters. He didn’t stop there; he’d also dissect other bowlers who had success against the visiting teams. What speed were they bowling? What angles were they using? How many balls were hitting the stumps? Some might call it overkill, but that’s just how he operates.

It's hard to argue against the effectiveness of Ashwin's approach. He was a total data junkie, always diving into pitch stats and often caught watching game footage during breaks. He’d analyze every ball, even in slow motion, to catch any little hints that could help him. This meticulous focus let him keep fine-tuning his strategy, leaving batters clueless about the perfect mix of science and skill they were up against.

But it wasn't just about those standout deliveries. It was his methodical grind, chipping away at the batters, over after over, ball after ball. That kind of patience made him a real threat. Batters knew that if they didn’t figure him out quickly, he’d outsmart them in the long run.

From 2012 to 2024, India’s unbeaten streak in home Test series was largely thanks to their spinners. Even when the batsmen struggled, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were a force to be reckoned with. They were relentless, giving nothing away, and before long, the opposition would crack under the pressure.

Ashwin once described himself as “an engineer who became a cricketer,” and he played a key role in making India a tough opponent at home. He had a solid understanding of what each venue would offer, which helped him end his Test career with the most wickets at seven different locations: Mumbai, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Indore, Pune, and Dharamsala. While his away stats weren't the greatest, like any legend, he knew how to choose his battles wisely.

He was also effective with the new ball, keeping batters on their toes at all times. Plus, his often-overlooked batting skills came in handy for India more than once. Now that he’s retired, just as unpredictably as one of his many deliveries, the upcoming generation of Indian spinners has some big shoes to fill. The silver lining is that he’s paved the way for them. They just need to be brave enough to take it on…

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