2011 World Cup winner Ravichandran Ashwin has shut down the critics over their comments on the Indian team selection for the Asia Cup 2023, as the experts and fans were divided by the opinion of the selection of underperforming Suryakumar Yadav and debutant Tilak Varma in the team and non-selection of Yuzvendra Chahal and Sanju Samson for the continental event.
The India squad for the Asia Cup 2023 saw the return of KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Shreyas Iyer in the ODI team, while the management and selector have backed Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma in the team over Sanju Samson, who averages more than 55 in short ODI career.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin has backed the selection of Tilak Varma in the Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2023 as he showed real impact in the middle order for India and feels that India is looking for him as a backup option in the team alongside Suryakumar Yadav.
“Tilak hasn’t scored much in this Ireland series so far. But he is showing unreal intent from the first ball. And this youngster is coming to bat with a clear mind. Since he is bringing some freshness into the squad, they have backed him for that backup slot. Similar with Surya,” Ravichandran Ashwin said.
Tilak Varma was the best batter for India in the series against the Men in Maroon as he batted brilliantly on tough wickets in West Indies and the youngster is expected to be given the opportunity the playing 11 for the Asia Cup 2023 before taking a call on his selection in the World Cup squad.
We All Know How Good A Player Suryakumar Yadav Has Been – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Suryakumar Yadav has got x-factor in him, which is the reason behind his backing in the 50-over format of the game, and recalled the captaincy of legendary MS Dhoni where he backs his player to come good in big events and asserted that the 360-degree batter has been India’s best batter in T20 cricket.
“He has that x-factor and that’s why the team is backing him to come good in the ODI format as well. We will go back in time to see how we have won World Cups. be it MS Dhoni or any other captain, they have backed their players to come good”.
“Of course, if you want to have a for and against debate for dropping or selecting a player, you can have a healthy debate. We all know how good a player Suryakumar Yadav has been. His impact, what a match-winner he has been, and he has been our go-to T20 player. I think this is all IPL warfare,” Ravichandran Ashwin added.
It was reported that the Indian team management has handed Suryakumar Yadav the new role of the finisher at the No.6 spot in the ODI team after his poor performance at the No.4 spot. The Mumbai-born batter has scored only two half-centuries in the 25 matches, he has played so far in ODIs with a poor average of 23.8.