Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has showered praise on Manav Suthar after the first Test match against Sri Lanka. Suthar returned with impressive figures of 6-55 in the second innings after taking four wickets in the first essay.
The left-arm orthodox spinner accounted for Sonal Dinusha in the second innings, and after that the floodgates opened for the hosts. The rookie spinner bagged 4-76 in the first innings and thus bagged his maiden 10-wicket haul in a Test match.
On the other hand, Ashwin said Jadeja is not the attacking spinner anymore and he is someone who will provide experience with the ball.
“Jadeja and Suthar are completely different bowlers. Suthar’s strength is the ball rotation in his hands. Jadeja will bowl to the wickets and give you control with his stock balls. I feel Jadeja is not that attacking spinner anymore. He is a batter who will give experience with the ball and I feel he has transitioned to that role, which is not such a bad thing,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin praised Suthar for his wicket-taking abilities despite playing only two Test matches. Suthar has bagged 17 wickets in his early career.
“Manav Suthar, in the previous Test and this one as well, is putting his hands up and saying he also knows how to pick wickets. He was gauging what the batters might do and bowling accordingly. I feel as far as wicket-taking is concerned, there is no connection to how the ball comes off the hand. How you utilise it and set fields, that’s what matters. He has given a great account of his skills in the first two Tests. He is very important to India’s spin bowling stocks.”
The former CSK spinner hailed India’s collective effort after winning the opening Test by a mammoth margin of 165 runs.
“433 is the average first-innings score at Galle. When India won the toss and put 450-plus on the board, everyone knew at that moment that it was going to be difficult for Sri Lanka. But I feel Sri Lanka played very well and gave a good fight for a young side. Devdutt Padikkal was incredible. Dhruv Jurel played well. Rishabh Pant played a superb knock in the second innings. Standard batting from KL Rahul. Manav Suthar was the highlight, everyone is going to talk about him,” he said.
The second Test between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Colombo from Sunday onwards.
