Ravichandran Ashwin has become one of the most talked-about players in world cricket. The 35-year-old’s recent success, with his bat and as well as his ball, has made him a cricketing legend. The off-spinner has propelled magnificently for the Indians in the longest format of the game with his game-changing spells against Australia and England in the span of a couple of months.
IND vs ENG: Ashwin still not eligible for limited-over cricket?
Having said that, Ashwin’s chances to make it to India’s limited-over playing XI still looks preposterous as opined by Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar. Cricket expert Sunil Gavaskar stated that Ashwin is going to find it very difficult to make a comeback in India’s ODI or T20I starting XI, despite his heroics for the country in red-ball cricket. Ashwin last represented India back in 2017 in a limited-over match.
Sunil Gavaskar went on to suggest that the presence of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya makes it difficult for the likes of Ashwin and other all-rounders to find their place in the limited-overs squad. Another reason for Ashwin’s exclusion from the Indian white-ball squad is the tremendous forms of spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
Sunil Gavaskar, in a recent interview with Star Sports, stated “I somehow don’t think he will now make a comeback in the Indian limited-overs team because India have found in Hardik Pandya the all-rounder at No.7, there is Ravindra Jadeja and then they will have three seamers or maybe one spinner and two-seamers,” “I don’t think he will fit into the squad at the moment and therefore, he will be a Test match player for the next half a dozen years at least,” Gavaskar added.
Nevertheless, Ashwin boasts some impressive figures in ODI as well as T20I cricket. The off-spinner has clinched 150 wickets in 111 ODIs and 52 wickets in 46 T20I matches.
