Published: Dec 12, 2021, 01:47 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 12, 2021, 01:47 PM (IST)
New Delhi: The newly appointed ODI and T20 captain Rohit Sharma insists that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is going to be an essential part of the white-ball squad in the upcoming years. Ashwin returned to the limited-overs set-up this year with the T20 World Cup after a gap of almost four years. Ashwin, who has been a vital cog in India’s Test side for the past decade, lost his place in white ball cricket after a disastrous champions trophy final. The loss against Pakistan was so impactful that India had to include two wrist spinners in place of Ashwin and Jadeja.
However, Ashwin kept playing white ball cricket in the IPL and made an astonishing comeback to limited-overs format with impressive performances in the 2021 T20 WC and New Zealand series.
Rohit heaped huge praise on Ashwin’s versatility and called him an all-rounder bowler who can bowl anytime and anywhere.
“Ashwin will give you that flexibility, you can use him in the powerplay or the middle over, so having a bowler like that an all-rounder bowler I’d like to call who can bowl anytime and anywhere in whatever situation, is always important,” Sharma was quoted as saying while speaking to journalist Boria Majumdar on ‘Backstage with Boria’.
Ashwin in the past, from international cricket to the IPL, has bowled with great control in both powerplay overs and at the death. The economy has been well under 7 which is crucial for a bowler in T20I’s. Rohit also stressed on the fact that the veteran spinner is a valuable addition to the Indian team given his current form.
“You don’t want one-dimensional bowlers where you know he can only bowl outside powerplay, he cannot bowl in the death, can only bowl to right-handers, can only bowl to left-handers. The more options you have with bowlers the better, that’s what I felt,” he stated.
“I thought he’d be a great addition, and I think he’s here to stay. He’s definitely here to stay,” the Indian ODI captain added.
India will take on South Africa for 3 tests and 3 ODI’s series starting 26 Dec. It will be interesting to see how Ashwin will perform in South African conditions in the white ball format.
