What a difference a few years can make. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja did not feature in the home ODI series against Australia. When Ashwin and Jadeja were rested for the series against Sri Lanka, there were a few murmurs about that decision. Sri Lanka are a young team in transition; perhaps a case can be made for “resting” players in the “easier” tours. Why, many a times, India caps have been given to newcomers on tour to West Indies and Zimbabwe before. Perhaps it was one of those times.

Therefore, one couldn’t blame the fans for having expected that the two experienced campaigners would be making a return to the ODI squad against the more formidable Australia. But no, there was no Ashwin to spook David Warner, and the Man of the Test series, sword-wielding Jadeja wasn’t called to turn the game on its head this time around.

A few years ago, such a scenario would have been unfathomable. Both Ashwin and Jadeja began their India careers as specialists in the limited overs formats (ODIs and T20s). Both were stellar performers in the Indian Premier League for their respective franchises and were given their ODI debuts fairly early (June 2010 and February 2009). In fact, they were made to wait for a while for their Test debuts (November 2011 and December 2012) and this shows how they were perceived by the selectors.

Ardent followers of the Indian cricket team might recall some of the criticism levelled at these two cricketers back then. Ashwin was often labelled as “guilty” of trying out too many variations during this phase of his career. And what about Jadeja? What about his two triple hundreds? Cue scoffs and guffaws. An aberration of the Indian domestic system. He was largely seen as a limited bowler who was somehow lucky to have made it to the Test team. And Michael Clarke — he of the twinkle toes and fabled player of spin — became his bunny. What a lark for meme-creators of the “Sir Jadeja” bandwagon. Now? No one’s laughing. At him, that is. They’re all (me included) laughing at the opponent looking foolish, having being bamboozled by his cunning utilisation of left-arm bowling angles. And Ashwin? Let’s just say that everyone’s looking forward to the South Africa tour in anticipation rather than trepidation.

But their stock certainly has fallen in ODIs as they have climbed the ladder of Test match bowling competence. India have played 47 matches since April 1, 2015 (basically after the 2015 World Cup). They have been largely successful, winning 30 matches with a team-bowling-average of 30.95 at 5.36 runs per over (bowling economy rate). During this time period, Ashwin and Jadeja have played only intermittently, and have featured in less than 50% of the matches — 15 and 17 respectively. On the bowling-average stakes, they both feature last on the list of Indian bowlers since the last World cup (minimum 10 wickets); in terms of economy rate, not much better. Looking at these numbers, it is no surprise that they don’t find themselves in the team.

Truth be told, it has been a tough time for finger spinners for a while now. Since the last World Cup, the average run-rate has been 5.41 runs per over. Generally, pitches have been flat in the ODI format across the world with big scores being the norm. Fielding restrictions have added to the problem with only four men patrolling the boundary in the middle overs. When pitches have little or no assistance for spin, a wrist spinner is considered a more potent weapon against rampaging batsmen.

Wrist spin (in the mould of Shane Warne) involves spinning the ball using a full flick of the wrist and the fingers, releasing the ball from the back of the hand, so that it passes over the little finger first. This imparts a lot more spin and bounce and therefore comes into play on flat pitches as well. But it is known to be notoriously difficult to control, and even more difficult to master.

Since the 2015 World cup, spinners have generally had it bad but wrist spinners have ruled the roost. The three most prolific bowlers have been wrist spinners — Adil Rashid, Rashid Khan and Imran Tahir. If Nabi’s figures are asterisked for mostly playing against the associate nations, the most successful finger spinner has been New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner — that too at around 34 runs per wicket. With these trends, it is no wonder that India have turned to the wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal; Axar Patel’s finger-spinning returns have been an improvement on Jadeja’s.

Ashwin and Jadeja may not find it difficult to find IPL contracts, but will a sportsperson’s self-belief allow them to accept defeat in the shorter formats and focus only on the longer one?

Test matches and the Limited-Overs cricket are two different forms of the game and call for different approaches to bowling. A Test match can only be won by capturing 20 wickets (unless there is a declaration). On the other hand, in the limited-overs formats, run-containment is another route to victory. Bowling in Test matches is a game of patience as it involves coaxing a batsman to make a mistake when he has to compulsion to score by taking risk; setting up a batsman and forcing an error is of paramount importance. In limited-overs, the spells are often not as long, and conceding a limited amount of runs is often seen as positive returns for a bowler as matches can be won through run-containment as well. Given that the required bowling skillsets vary widely between the formats, it is tenable that bowlers may falter in the limited formats after become better bowlers in Tests.

Given their age and their experience, however, it is hard to see the limited-overs door being firmly shut on them. Perhaps they will be in contention should one of the wrist spinners fail — more so Jadeja. Ashwin’s fielding makes him a bit of a liability, and with the focus firmly on fitness he may find the going a lot more difficult. It is also good that the BCCI have a vision for them keeping in mind the challenges that the Indian team are going to face shortly. Ashwin has been sharpening his skills on the county circuit, and with Jadeja rumoured to be looking for a county team, it is nice to see a plan in place for the overseas tours. In any case, the official word is that these two have been “rested” rather than “dropped” for the ODI tours.

It would be great if they could focus only on Test matches and aid the team’s quest for history when they tour abroad, but such a wish is inherently unfair. They deserve the right to compete on fair terms in all formats. Besides, the match fees for limited-overs matches are a significant chunk of revenue for a cricketer, and no cricketer in their right mind would want to forfeit this given their short shelf life. The desire for a spot in the Indian team has made cricketers do strange things — Cheteshwar Pujara tried his hand at bowling in order to bolster his chances of an ODI recall. Ashwin and Jadeja may not find it difficult to find IPL contracts, but will a sportsperson’s self-belief allow them to accept defeat in the shorter formats and focus only on the longer one? How will their Test-match form change as a consequence? What remains to be seen is how this will transform them as bowlers.