Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come up with a cheeky, headline-grabbing idea on how India could handle Pakistan\u2019s mystery spinner Usman Tariq ahead of their blockbuster showdown on February 15. Ashwin\u2019s comments have already got fans at the edge of their seats, especially with Tariq being seen as Pakistan\u2019s most dangerous spin weapon in the tournament.<\/p>\n
Speaking on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin floated a clever tactic, one he stressed is completely legal, and challenged Indian batters to use it against Tariq\u2019s now-famous pause at the crease.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThere is one thing I want to see. Who dares to do that?\u201d Ashwin said. \u201cIf Tariq pauses before delivery, the batter has the right to move away. The batter can say, \u2018I don’t know when the ball is coming, so I moved away.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Watch the video here:<\/p>\n \u201cThat will be an interesting case and a huge headache for the umpire,\u201d he added. \u201cThe umpire will have to decide whether to warn the bowler or the batter. Odds are, and that is how cricket has worked, the bowler will be warned first.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashwin believes a batter simply stepping away could mess with Tariq\u2019s mind, piling pressure on the spinner and forcing him to rethink his rhythm in the middle of the biggest game of the group stage.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine, this is such a big game. And Tariq has been the cynosure. He has to bowl 24 deliveries like that,\u201d Ashwin said. \u201cIf the batter starts withdrawing, imagine the pressure on Tariq. He might have to alter his action in the middle of the game. Pakistan’s trump card might turn out to be nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n Why is Usman Tariq\u2019s action controversial?<\/p>\n Tariq\u2019s bowling action has been at the centre of debate even before the T20 World Cup kicked off.<\/p>\n The off-spinner\u2019s unusual action has drawn comparisons to Sri Lanka cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan, largely because of Tariq\u2019s hypermobile (double-jointed) elbow, which prevents him from fully straightening his arm.<\/p>\n But the bigger issue for batters is Tariq\u2019s strange rhythm. His diagonal run-up, followed by a dramatic pause of a few seconds at the crease, creates a stop-start pattern that disrupts timing and forces players into second-guessing their movements.<\/p>\n During Pakistan\u2019s recent bilateral series against Australia, Cameron Green was among those who questioned the legality of Tariq\u2019s action.<\/a><\/p>\n Ashwin, however, also defended Tariq’s action as being in accordance to the rulebook.<\/p>\n “If I have a normal bowling action but suddenly pause and deliver the final ball in the over, that was ruled illegal a few years ago because that is against the natural rhythm of my bowling action. The umpire can warn me. For Tariq, the case is different. That pause is part of his normal action,” he said.<\/p>\n Why is Usman Tariq a threat to India?<\/p>\n India may have started their T20 World Cup title defence with two wins in two, but their struggles against spin have been hard to miss<\/a>. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side lost three wickets to USA\u2019s spinners, five more to Namibia\u2019s, and there have been phases where the batting has looked more anxious than fluent.<\/p>\n That is exactly where Usman Tariq becomes Pakistan\u2019s biggest threat. He is not just a spinner, he is a disruptor. His diagonal run-up and dramatic pause at the crease break a batter\u2019s rhythm even before the ball is released.<\/p>\n And once he gets going, it is not easy to line him up. Tariq mixes sharp carrom balls, skidding arm deliveries and subtle drift at a brisk pace, keeping batters guessing every over.<\/p>\n After missing Pakistan’s tournament opener against the Netherlands, Tariq went on to pick up 3 wickets against the USA. This means that Tariq is in wicket-taking form. <\/p>\n On a Colombo surface that could grip as the match progresses, Tariq\u2019s stop-start mystery could turn India\u2019s spin discomfort into Pakistan\u2019s biggest opening on February 15.<\/p>\n T20 World Cup<\/a> | T20 World Cup Schedule<\/a> | T20 World Cup Points Table<\/a> | T20 World Cup Videos<\/a> | Cricket News<\/a> | Live Score<\/a><\/p>\n – Ends<\/p>\n Published By: <\/p>\n Debodinna Chakraborty<\/p>\n Published On: <\/p>\n Feb 13, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come up with a cheeky, headline-grabbing idea on how India could handle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[155807,1721,155805,154794,155806,155804,101,8051,56,54,55,155808],"class_list":["post-423778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-ashwin-on-usman-tariq","tag-cricket","tag-ind-vs-pak-february-15","tag-india-vs-pakistan-t20-world-cup","tag-pakistan-mystery-spinner-usman-tariq","tag-r-ashwin-usman-tariq-tactic","tag-sports","tag-t20-world-cup","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-usman-tariq-controversy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}