Joe Root is in awe of the variety of tricks that Ravichandran Ashwin has in his bag.
“Ashwin is always trying to find ways of getting you out rather than trying to wear you down over long periods of time,” Root said on Sky Sports cricket podcast hosted by former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain.
Explaining how the Indian off-spinner, who will be playing in his 100th Test in Dharamsala, operates, Root said: “He uses creases differently from traditional off-spinners. He uses over-spin, side-spin, can get really tight to the stumps, can go wider and he has got the carrom ball, you know, a lot of different tricks.
“So, you will have to be really wary of different threats that he poses and make sure that you have very good skill sets to counter (him) and be on top of him.
“Ashwin is making sure that you don’t play the previous ball. He is very good at trying to drag you across the crease and get your head to one side of it and beat both edges quite frequently.”
Ashwin recently became only the second Indian after Anil Kumble to take 500 wickets in Tests.
Root said Ashwin poses different threats while bowling with new and old balls. “There are different things to contend with because of his seam position and how cleverly he can move around the shiny side that has got some extra skid.
“So, you have to make sure that you are in position a little bit quicker. He can also drift the ball away and bring the slip fielder into play,” he explained.