Former India spinner turned commentator Ravichandran Ashwin slammed the team management for not playing wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav after the first ODI against England. Team India began the three-match series with a six-wicket victory at Edgbaston as well. However, India played two spin-bowling all-rounders in Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, while Kuldeep was not selected.
“When somebody has done it for a period of time and knows a thing or two and has value, they have to be looked upon concisely. How a batter plays consistently, give the same confidence to a bowler and his rhythm will also get better. So I feel Kuldeep has been handled very poorly. They must give him opportunities. Come South Africa next year, Kuldeep will have a role,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“They are using Shivam Dube in Hardik’s slot as like for like. They gave him extra bowling also. In T20 you think you need four overs from two bowlers. You have two finger spinners in Washington and Axar here who can bat. So you can then select one of the two and you have to play Kuldeep,” he again shared.
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Ravichandran Ashwin also remarked that there was no need to applaud the coaching staff a lot after Team India’s win in the first ODI as well. He slammed the management for the selection calls in the T20I series but added that with senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Jasprit Bumrah in the one-day side, there was not a lot of work to be done by the coaches as well.
“There is no need to give too much credit or too much criticism. Even in the T20Is, the only issue I had was the constant rotation. There was a musical chair and I did not like that. There is not much work to do at all with this ODI setup. Even when the last T20I was going on, Virat, Rohit, KL, Bumrah were practising in Edgbaston. What coaching will you do for these guys? It does not need any big training,” he said.
“In ODI, India and England have had contrasting results. India truly exemplified professionalism and what high-quality 50-over cricket is. Jasprit Bumrah coming in having that kind of impact. Virat, Rohit, KL, first game after a break, did not have the best of games. But Shubman Gill was excellent, Shreyas Iyer was pretty good. Gurnoor Brar came back well after a tough start. Prasidh showed what he can do. Completely dominant side,” R Ashwin concluded.
