Once Zaheer Khan retired, India haven’t found a proper left-arm seamer – Ravichandran Ashwin

India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin feels the bereft of left-arm seamers in the country is troubling Team India. Mitchell Starc had wreaked havoc in the second ODI against the hosts as he had returned with figures of 5-53 to skittle out the opposition at 117.

Ashwin believes India hasn’t found a proper left-arm seamer after Zaheer Khan retired. Recently Arshdeep Singh has come up through the ranks but he isn’t part of the Indian squad for the ODI series against Australia.

As there haven’t been many left-arm pacers in India, the batters have found it difficult to face them in actual matches. Thus, the likes of Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mitchell Starc, and Trent Boult have troubled the Indian batters, especially with their stock delivery, which comes back into the right-handers from over-the-wicket angle.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin explained: “Once Zaheer Khan retired, India haven’t found a proper left-arm seamer. There is no use of saying that we have a problem in facing a left-arm seamer because he brings different dynamics of the game into play. In the 2019 World Cup semi-final, Trent Boult swung the ball and took the wicket of Virat Kohli.

“Facing that angle is completely different. In the nets, Virat Kohli will be facing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav. All of them are fantastic bowlers. When a left-arm seamer bowls from over the stumps, he is suddenly bringing the stumps into play. How many right-arm seamers are bowling inswing at the moment? Since we don’t have a left-arm seamer, we are unable to put the opponent under pressure.

There is no doubt that India’s pace battery has taken giant strides in the last few years but a quality left-arm seamer is still missing in the team’s arsenal.

“Many people are talking about how Indian batters are struggling against the left-arm angle, and blah blah blah. See, a left-arm angle itself is a massive advantage to the opponents. Almost all selection processes will be eyeing specifically a left-arm fast bowler. All the IPL teams will give premium value to a left-arm fast bowler because a left-arm seamer creates problems for almost all cricketers.”

Ashwin added that Starc has even gone past Brett Lee’s stature in ODI cricket. Starc has scalped 219 wickets in 109 ODI matches and he is currently one of the best in the business.

“Shaun Tait is saying that Mitchell Starc is on his way to becoming an all-time great. But if you ask me, he has already gone past that stage. Australia have had their share of all-time greats like Glenn McGrath. But when it comes to ODIs, Starc is on par with Brett Lee. I feel Starc has even gone past Brett Lee’s stature in ODI cricket.”

The deciding ODI between India and Australia will be played on Wednesday in Chennai.