R Ashwin: More than a handy batsman for India...

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

Kolkata: Ravichandran Ashwin plays the role of a genuine off-spinner in the Indian team -- be it a Test, ODI and Twenty20. But slowly and steadily, the 27-year-old is turning out to be a handy batsman as well. In the Kolkata Test, Ashwin came to crease when India were struggling at a score of 156 for six and only Rohit Sharma was the last recognized batsman left. To add to their woes, spinner Shane Shillingford was on fire. But along with Rohit Sharma, he came to the rescue of the Indian team and for the seventh wicket, the duo added 280 runs. Ashwin played a sensational knock of 124 runs in the first Test match, in which he faced 210 balls and smashed 11 boundaries. It was the second Test century of his career. The most impressive part in his innings was the application. Apart from that, he played the spinners and fast bowlers equally well. Even though he is expected to pick wickets for the team, Ashwin has certainly set high standards for himself as a batsman as well. Interestingly, he was an opener before he took up off-spin. Even while playing the limited over games for India, he proved that he has proper cricketing shots. So, it would be interesting to see in the near future that whether he will continue playing such knocks for the team or not.