The veteran spin all-rounder of the Indian side, Ravichandran Ashwin, feels that the upcoming T20I series of five games against England, starting at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, will be the true test for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side, who have dominated both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The away series against the Island was the first partnership between Sky and their head coach, Gautam Gambhir, while in the absence of Gambhir, under the supervision of VVS Laxman, India did a great job in South Africa with a 3-1 series victory in four games.
“Bangladesh was a weak team, while South Africa fielded a second-string pace attack, although their batting was excellent. We played against Bangladesh, but they are no matches for India. I think that series was a mismatch. I think that series should not be considered a true reflection of our strength.” Ravichandran Ashwin expressed on ‘Ash Ki Baat.’
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Ravichandran Ashwin remarked that the Indian side rested many of their key players in the Rainbow Nation due to the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, by then. However, the strong batting unit capitalized on the big scores.
Ravichandran Ashwin picks India’s likely playing eleven for Kolkata T20I
Given the venues and the power of both sides, the Tamil Nadu spinner has anticipated an entertaining performance with aggressive batting and approaches.
“Bazball vs. Skyball will be an exciting spectacle. This series will also test India’s T20I depth. All the venues are batting-friendly, with small boundaries and high-scoring grounds.” Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted.
“Both teams are packed with powerful hitters, and it promises to be an entertaining series for fans who enjoy aggressive batting.” The Chennai-born shed light.
The 20-over format has changed a lot from its early days. The scores of 130 or 140 were expected to be winning scores for the sides, while in this current era, chasing anything under 200 is supposed to be the most comfortable job.
“This T20I era is all about flexibility. Three or four years ago, batters were reluctant to play out of their usual positions, but bowlers now vary their bowling strategies throughout the 20 overs.” Ravichandran Ashwin elaborated.
The T20I captain of the Indian side, Suryakumar Yadav, has eliminated any chance of changing their wicket-keeper in the shortest format at present and claimed that the performance of Sanju Samson is quite gorgeous.
The Kerala batter drilled three centuries in the previous year in the shortest format at a strike rate of around 180 and has cemented his spot in the opening position of the shortest format.
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Ravichandran Ashwin, walking on the same path as Suryakumar, has kept him in the opening position for the series opener in Kolkata. After the contributions of Tilak Verma in South Africa, there is no chance of leaving him out, while he reckoned that it would be interesting to see if all of these three top-order batters, including the leader, could maintain a powerful strike rate against England.
“The playing XI is fairly straightforward. There might be a toss-up between Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar, but at Eden, with dew likely to play a significant role, India might opt for Nitish.” The veteran informed.
It will be a return for the homeboy, Mohammad Shami, in the shortest format for India after nearly two years since the semifinal against the same opponent in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Adelaide.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s likely India XI For Kolkata T20I vs England
Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammad Shami.