Former Indian World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir believes that the veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin does not seem to have a place in the starting XI for the marquee final clash against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Ravichandran Ashwin played only one match in the ODI World Cup so far. In the game against Australia, he picked up one wicket and conceded only 34 runs in his ten overs and was not provided an opportunity in the team due to playing conditions and team combination.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Gautam Gambhir feels that Ravichandran Ashwin might not get a chance to represent the Indian team in the final of the marquee event, as the team would not aim to alter their playing lineup and praised the Indian bowlers for their performance throughout the ODI World Cup.
“I don’t think so (on Ashwin playing the final). I don’t see a place for him and why would you even tinker with what is working for you. What better performance can you expect from your five bowlers,” Gautam Gambhir said.
Several Indian experts had speculated that Ravichandran Ashwin might be in the starting XI, with conditions favouring the spinners at Ahmedabad. It ought to be obvious what the ultimate combination is, which could be the same as the last few games to ensure continuity for the players.
I Feel It Is Time To Praise The Bowlers For Delivering Under Pressure – Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir continued by saying that it’s time to give India’s bowling unit credit for performing well under pressure after Hardik Pandya’s injury and believes that Indian bowlers have played a pivotal role in the team’s World Cup campaign to the finals of the mega event.
“After Hardik’s injury, we have spoken that with just five specialist bowlers, teams will look to target one or two of them. However, that hasn’t happened because of the quality of the five bowlers. We have spoken a lot about batters and I feel it is time to praise the bowlers for delivering under pressure,” Gautam Gambhir added.
Throughout the ODI World Cup, Indian bowlers have claimed 95 wickets in total. Of those wickets, 85 wickets have come from bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja, who has played in all the games after Hardik Pandya’s injury in the Bangladesh game.
