Former India legspinner L Sivaramakrishnan has recently said that R Ashwin should be considered for India’s white-ball squads once again for his vast experience and ability to bowl to left-handers as well. He again said that Ashwin should be in the India squad for the upcoming mega event – ICC T20 World Cup, especially if he has a good IPL 2021 for Delhi Capitals in the UAE when it resumes.
Notably, Ashwin has not played in India in the limited-overs series since 2017 as the young spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were chosen over him.
“Yes, he is one of the outstanding bowlers we’ve had in the last few years. His experience will definitely help,” Sivaramakrishnan said in a press conference arranged by the Sony Network. “He bowls very well to left handers. He’s not a slouch on the field, he can field reasonably well and is a safe catcher. He has worked hard on his fielding and fitness. He should be considered in my opinion. If there are a lot of left handers in the opposition, you want your best offspinner to be bowling to them. If Ashwin has a good IPL in UAE, he should be considered.”
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The veteran further opened up about Kuldeep Yadav’s poor form, saying that he has to work on both his technique and mindset to become successful again. The youngster has been added to the India squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka series and he is likely to get a few chances there as well.
“He has to work on his action and various other things. When he came into the team, the KulCha was a formidable pair. They were two different kinds of bowlers. A lot of people praised him when he had success. But a bowler needs backing when he is low on confidence. You have to identify your own mistakes and improve. A lot of people have said Kuldeep is slow through the air, that’s probably working on his mental aspect of the game,” he said.
He continued: “A bowler’s natural speed is different. Bowling slow can be an advantage. In IPL, Amit Mishra’s speed is below 80 and batsmen struggle. Each bowler has his own comfortable speed. Work needs to be done on Kuldeep, both technically and mentally. He is still very young, a rare kind of a bowler. He can comeback and be very useful for India. It doesn’t help if your IPL team drops you. That’s where you build your confidence. If he works hard and has a good IPL, he can have a good chance of a comeback.”
Meanwhile, the former great was impressed with the young Rahul Chahar, who has successfully left his mark in the circuit – at first for Mumbai Indians and then for the country as well. He is also with the Indian team in Sri Lanka and likely to play a key role for India there as well.
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“He is a really good bowler. I like his attitude, he wants to take wickets and be attacking. Has a slip in position, Rohit Sharma captains him beautifully. He was very good in the IPL before it was suspended. I’ve seen him bowl a lot on domestic cricket. He is quite a hardworking boy. I really like the look of Rahul Chahar. He will be successful,” he concluded.
