"R Ashwin Always Trying To Find Ways Of...": Joe Root's No Holds Barred Take On India Spinner

Mighty impressed with Ravichandran Ashwin's range, aggressive mindset and relentless pursuit of wickets, senior England batter Joe Root has said that the veteran Indian off-spinner is a constant threat who hardly believes in the concept of wearing the opposition down. Ashwin, who recently went past the 500-wicket milestone in the traditional format becoming only the second Indian after Anil Kumble to do so, will play his 100th Test during the fifth match against England, starting on March 7 at Dharamsala.

"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.

Root, who along with his teammates is currently enjoying a break in the series, said the infinite variety that Ashwin has in his bowling keeps the batters guessing.

"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," said the ex-England skipper.

Giving an insight into the way Ashwin operates, Root said the Tamil Nadu man often bowls six different deliveries in an over.

"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," he said.

Root said Ashwin poses different threats while bowling with new and old balls.

"There are different things to contend