Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly believes the experienced spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has to be part of the starting eleven in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against the Australians at Perth. A Test match between India and Australia had not happened for a period of time that was longer than a year and this match will see both teams running in their race towards seam supremacy in Perth from Friday. Given last minute injuries and the players’ form in the Indian dressing room, the selection will give head coach Gautam Gambhir sleepless nights, especially after the New Zealand home series which the team lost 3-0.
Once again, Ashwin, who has been the subject of debate among fans and former cricketers alike for being omitted in key matches such as the World Test Champions finals in 2023, is in the news.
While chasing for wickets, more often than not, the spinners have been to the wicket and come back without any cause thanks to an offering that was more friendly to the fast bowlers.
With the presence of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in the frame, it was likely that, India would play only one spinner in the playing eleven.
However, having endured an underwhelming performance in the most recent Tests, it is probable that Ashwin may once again be absent from a major overseas fixture.
Nevertheless, the ex BCCI president is adamant regarding Ashwin’s inclusion in the team. In his opinion, the 38-year-old is the strongest contender to be selected in preference to the likes of Jadeja and Sundar, who shone during the last series against New Zealand.
“Ashwin is an absolute necessity. Your best spinner has to be in the team. Test cricket is played with specialists. Furthermore, judging with the strength of the Australian batting line specifically against left-handers, Ashwin will be effective for sure,” said Ganguly while talking to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz.
At home, Ashwin witnessed an unusual fall in performance in red ball cricket against the Kiwis. The genuine off-spinner came short off crossing ten in the wickets column over the three tests, a clear representation of his futile struggle.
Ashwin managed a mere nine wicket hauls in the tournament, while Sundar and Jadeja were joint top as the two took sixteen each. The other notable aspect of Ashwin’s performance was the match during which he could not take any wicket – the first test and the third test.
In both occasions, which were in the second innings of the first test and in the first innings of the last test at Wankhede ground, he did not get any wicket.
Regardless of that pain, Ganguly relied on Ashwin’s efforts in the playing XI because he is hinged on views that Ashwin is “the best spinner in India”.
“Of course there is Jadeja and Washington and they are both good batsmen as well but in the first Test, you should go with your best spinner. Play with specialist batsmen and bowlers, and that’s why Ashwin is my pick,” he further stated.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.
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