Ravichandran Ashwin made his comeback to white-ball cricket after a long time. But his return could have been fast-tracked as per the latest reports. Former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik said that Ashwin was the frontrunner to replace injured Axar Patel in the Asia Cup Final. But Ashwin decided against it and as a result, Washington Sundar played the final.
When Axar Patel got injured against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup Super 4s clash, the Men in Blue were on the hunt for another spinner. Ravi Ashwin was obviously the number 1 pick. But the veteran spinner refused the India Cricket Team call-up. As a result, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid opted for the next best choice, and as a result, Washinton Sundar flew to Sri Lanka and played the final.
Why did Ravichandran Ashwin deny Asia Cup call-up?
As per the revelation by Dinesh Karthik, Ashwin was the first-choice call-up when Axar Patel was injured. India needed a spinner in Axar Patel’s absence in the Asia Cup Final against Sri Lanka. But Ravi Ashwin denied the call-up as he was not match fit.
The veteran spinner decided against playing in the finals without being 100% match-fit. On the other hand, Washinton Sundar who was busy playing local tournaments was match fit and thus was opted in place of Ashwin.
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“With a little inside information I know, I’ll end up defending Rohit (Sharma), Ajit (Agarkar), and Rahul Dravid here. They actually called up R Ashwin first at the Asia Cup final. They had a conversation and Ashwin felt he wasn’t match ready yet. So, he said it’s better if I don’t come to this game, because Washington was playing. He was playing in local tournaments in Chennai and he was in NCA. So, they sent Sundar for that one game,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“Then, Ashwin played a couple of local club matches, and then, they picked him. That was the whole conversation. Their first choice at that point as well was Ashwin. I understand Washington could’ve been misled a bit, but they choose Ashwin first,” he added.
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Ravi Ashwin was emotional on his return to the Indian Cricket Team. He said, “It is a great opportunity for me. Like I have always said in the last 3-4 years, it’s not about what I want to achieve in these opportunities. I want to give myself the best chance to enjoy.”
Coming to the India vs Australia 1st ODI, Ashwin had a decent outing after scalping just 1 wicket by giving away 47 runs. Marnus Labuschagne was Ashwin’s only victim in the game.
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