New ODI rules will further test Ashwin

With only four fielders now allowed in the deep, the already prevalent tendency among off spinners such as R Ashwin to protect the leg side and bowl straight will only grow more exaggerated, writes Karthik Krishnaswamy in the Indian Express.

The almost mandatory straighter line, forced on him by the rule change, will probably mean that Ashwin's carrom ball becomes a little more useful, calling for its frequent deployment. Straighter line, more carrom balls -- this is precisely what most experts are telling Ashwin to guard against in the longer format. It remains to be seen how he juggles the two challenges, at a critical stage of his career.