Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar lost his cool when asked about Ravichandran Ashwin’s exclusion from the India squad for the Asia Cup 2023. The Men in Blue has picked up a strong 17-men squad for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, with Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravichandran Ashwin being a notable omission from the squad.
Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal were part of the India squad for the West Indies ODI series while Ravichandran Ashwin not being in India’s scheme of things in white ball cricket. These players were ignored from the Indian team for the continental event in favour of Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krisha, and Suryakumar Yadav in the 17-man squad.
Speaking on Aaj Tak, Sunil Gavaskar was not happy with the questions regarding the excluded players from the squad and feels that it is the wrong mindset to criticize the squad selected for the Asia Cup and said that the selected players are capable of winning the World Cup for India.
“Yes, there are a few players who will believe that they are lucky. But the team is selected. So don’t talk about Ashwin. Stop creating controversy. This is our team now. If you don’t like it, don’t watch the matches but stop saying that he should have been picked or another should be there, this is a wrong mindset,” he added.
“Yes, absolutely (this team can win the World Cup). Who else would you have picked? I don’t think any player can claim that he has been an injustice to him. The experienced and in-form players have been selected in the 17-member Asia Cup squad,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will return to competitive cricket after a long-standing injury as they will look to prove their match fitness ahead of the ODI World Cup. Young Tilak Varma and under-performing Suryakumar Yadav are selected as backup options in the 17-men squad for the Asia Cup 2023.
I Think It Will Be Fair To Give KL Rahul After All That He Has Done… – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar feels that it is fair to give KL Rahul a chance to recover from the niggle as they got enough time to come back into the team and recalled his contribution to the team’s success in the ODI format of the game.
“Let’s see what his injury is like. There are another 10 days to go before the tournament starts. As far as India is concerned, there are 11 days to go. That’s enough time to recover from a niggle. And there are more matches as well, right till the middle of September”.
“I think it will be fair to give KL Rahul (a chance) after all that he has done for India in the past, to give him the opportunity to recover,” Sunil Gavaskar added.