Rohit Sharma, the new India skipper, said seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has proved himself over the years and is now a key cog in the bowling wheel of the side in the shortest format. Rohit Sharma’s 56-run knock followed by Axar Patel’s three-wicket haul helped India defeat New Zealand by 73 runs in the third and final T20I at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma lavished praise on Ravichandran Ashwin and said the off-spinner is an attacking option for the side, whenever the team is looking for quick wickets in the middle overs.
Rohit Sharma: It Has Been A Great Comeback For Ravichandran Ashwin In T20Is
Ravichandran Ashwin has played 5 T20Is since his comeback in the limited-overs format after a gap of 4 years. He has picked 9 scalps at an average of 11.66 and an economy rate of 5.25, and a strike rate of 13.3. However, he was rested for the 3rd inconsequential T20I with Yuzvendra Chahal replacing him.
“I think it has been a great comeback for him. Ever since he (R Ashwin) played in Dubai until now. We all know he is a quality bowler, he has proved himself with the red-ball and even with the white-ball his record isn’t bad,” said Rohit in the post-match press conference after India’s series win.
“And now he has made a comeback and bowled in Dubai and two games here, it shows the quality he has. He has always been an attacking option for a captain.
The 35-year old spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made noteworthy outings in the opening two games against New Zealand, where he returned with figures 4-0-23-2 and 4-0-19-1, but he was rested for the final 3rd T20I as Yuzvendra Chahal was picked instead.
The spin prodigy Ravichandran Ashwin was impressive in the UAE during the recently-concluded T20I World Cup. In the three outings, he scalped six wickets and maintained an economy of 5.25. The 35-year old made similar noteworthy outings in the opening two games against New Zealand.
Before the 2021 T20I World cup and subsequent T20Is versus New Zealand, Ravichandran Ashwin played white-ball cricket for India in 2017 before being sidelined from one-day cricket following the Champions Trophy debacle. Ravichandran Ashwin has last featured in an ODI and T20I in 2017 in June-July against West Indies, before earning a recall to the Indian squad for the T20I World Cup after Washington Sundar was ruled out.
Rohit Sharma Urges Bowlers To Pick Wickets As It’s Never About Surviving
The India skipper pointed out that it is never about bowling your full quota in the shortest format, and the bowlers must go for wickets during the middle-over phase.
“It’s never about surviving, it is always about how can we get the batter out and how can we put the pressure back on the batter,” said Rohit.
With this win, India won the three-match series 3-0, and now both teams will square off in the two-match Test series, beginning Thursday in Kanpur. Rohit Sharma’s sequence of scores in the last six T20 Internationals is 74, 30, 56, 48, 55, and 56, and captaincy hasn’t changed his style of play one bit.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Mumbai batter Suryakumar Yadav, who was part of the Indian team for the home T20I series against New Zealand, will be joining the Test squad, which will be led by Ajinkya Rahane. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested, keeping in mind the workload management.