A day after the Men in Blue’s Asia Cup roster was revealed, R Ashwin offered his opinion on who should be India’s No. 4 batter in the 50-over format.
R Ashwin also hits back at ‘IPL warfare’ of Indian fans.
“The No 4 slot is one of the most debated slots. Shreyas Iyer is extremely important to our side. He’s one of the best players in the Indian line-up against spin and a very consistent No 4 for India. He’s played a crucial role in India’s success whenever he’s played at No 4. If he’s completely fit to play, there’s no debate who should be No 4 for India,” said R Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
Even if SuryaKumar Yadav has repeatedly shown that he is one of the best match-winners in the T20 format, R Ashwin said. He also added that sometimes people bring up debates over how many opportunities a player like Surya should be allowed.
R Ashwin referred to “IPL warfare” when he spoke to some of the discussion surrounding players and the opportunities they should or shouldn’t be given.
R Ashwin praises Ajit Agarkar
Ashwin praised Ajit Agarkar, the new chairman of selection, for putting the team’s direction into sharp focus.
While R Ashwin stated that Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were assured spots in the starting lineup, Virat Kohli should start at No. 3.
There has been some discussion about whether Virat Kohli should bat at No. 3 or No. 4 in the batting order. Former players like Ravi Shastri have said that Kohli should be prepared to step in at No. 4 if necessary.
But Ashwin provided the Australian team as an illustration of what made them competitive in order to imply that India was unlikely to juggle around Virat Kohli.
“Matthew Hayden claimed that Australia was a contender since their team is stable. It’s vital that you pay attention to the word’settled’ that he used,” R Ashwin stated.
Regarding the No. 5 position, he asserted that KL Rahul was a foregone conclusion.
The off-spinner added that it was encouraging to see how Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna performed in the Ireland series.
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