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Ravi Ashwin Demands Change in LBW Rules For Test Cricket

Ravichandran Ashwin has demanded a change in rules for Leg Before Wicket (LBW) and shared his opinion on the same via his YouTube channel. The Indian spinner feels that a batsman should be given out leg before wicket if he/she fails to connect bat to the ball while attempting to play a reverse sweep.  

Current rules state that a batsman cannot be adjudged LBW if the ball pitches outside the leg stump. The ball hitting the batter on the pads despite being in line would not matter in this case. Ashwin took the recently concluded 5th Test match between India and England as an example to share his thoughts. The 35-year-old spinner pointed out how former England captain Joe Root tried to reverse sweep but failed to connect the bat on ball.

What did Ashwin say?  

The spinner spoke on his YouTube channel and said, “In this game, it was about the approach that Joe Root and Bairstow took. Root played about 10 shots, where he turned around completely and attempted the reverse sweep. He played those 10 times but didn’t connect on 9 of them. On the 10th time, it got the under-edge and rolled away. Bairstow, meanwhile, kept padding the balls away.”

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Ashwin went on to share how the concept of blind spot is nullified if a batter switches his original stance to play a reverse sweep. The term ‘Blind spot’ refers to the situation where the ball pitches outside the line of the leg stump and is not visible to a batter, who is positioned in the original stance.

However, the Indian spinner shared that it is not a blind spot when Root switched from his original stance and began batting like a left-handed batter to play reverse sweep shots.  The 35-year-old questioned, “This is where I have a small difference of opinion. As a bowler, I am informing you that I am bowling left-arm spin from over the stumps and I have this (leg side) field. You front up to that as a right-hander, but you play that reverse sweep and hit like a left-hander.”

Ashwin added, “But when Root does that, he won’t be out lbw because of the blind spot. It’s only a blind spot when you are at your normal stance. Once you play the reverse sweep and have a left-handed stance, it’s no longer a blind spot. It’s front on.”

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