With Washington Sundar still recovering from a finger injury, there were plenty of murmurs that R Ashwin could make a return to the national team from white-ball wilderness. It had been four years since the off-spinner had donned the Blue although during that time he kept shaping many a India wins with the red ball.
The national selection committee confirmed the rumours, including the off-spinner for the T20 World Cup in the UAE next month with chief selector Chetan Sharma calling him an asset. “Ashwin regularly plays in the IPL and we have seen how well he plays. For the World Cup, an off-spinner was a necessity. Wickets could play low and slow in the UAE and it’ll help spinners. Washington Sundar was injured and Ashwin is an asset for the team. He’d been doing well in the IPL and that’s why we have selected him,” said Sharma during a virtual press conference.
While it was a surprise return for Ashwin, it was a disappointing exit for Yuzvendra Chahal, who ironically replaced the off-spinner post the 2017 Champions Trophy when India chose to switch to wrist-spinners at the expense of finger-spinners. Chahal’s partner in crime Kuldeep Yadav, who too has been battling poor form, has been dropped. Instead the selectors chose mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy to partner Rahul Chahar, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja besides Ashwin for the Oct 17-Nov 14 event.
Sharma said the main reason behind dropping Chahal was his lack of pace. “Chahal’s name did come up for discussion and we decided that we needed spinners who could bowl with pace. We have seen recently with Rahul Chahar, the speed with with which he bowls, the selectors felt we need a bowler who can get some grip on (UAE) surfaces. Varun has bowled really well with an economy rate of 5 runs per over in Sri Lanka series. He’s a mystery bowler, very few know about him. It’s a surprise package. That’s the main reason behind taking Varun.”
As expected the selectors pinned their faith on all-rounders and utility cricketers, very vital for success in T20 cricket. Hardik Pandya, Jadeja and Axar can be destructive with both ball and the bat while a guy like Ishan Kishan can bat anywhere in the order. “T20 is all about the all-rounders and that’s why we packed the team with all-rounders. We have Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. If the wickets are turning, you have Axar and Jadeja with you and then Hardik is one of the leading all-rounders India have. Main aim was to look into T20 cricket and pack the team with all-rounders,” said Sharma, himself a decent all-rounder in the 1980s.
A major omission is seasoned opener Shikhar Dhawan, who captained the side in Sri Lanka in the July limited-overs series. Dhawan has done little wrong but sadly had to give way to youngsters oozing with talent. Sharma though refused to dwell deep into the southpaw’s axing.
“Dhawan is a very important player for us. We did discuss him, details of which I can’t disclose. He’s there in the loop and he’ll be back very soon… We have three openers, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan who can bat as an opener and can fit into middle order anytime. Ishan Kishan gives us a lot of options. He’s opened in ODIs and got a fifty in his first game. Middle-order, he’s a good player of spin. Despite having three openers, if the team management decides to open with Kohli, it’s up to them,” said Sharma.