The India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has raised few doubts over the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from the limited-over series against Sri Lanka, as Bhajji has asked whether Ashwin has been rested for the series or dropped?
Realising that Ashwin is the go to man for captains in Test cricket but has not been able to cement his spot in ODIs. He was dropped from the side for the first two games of ICC Champions Trophy and only made a comeback in the third one,
“I am not sure if R Ashwin has been rested or dropped. We have seen reports that Ashwin has been rested but at the same time in his rest period, he is going to England to play county cricket. So I don’t know what kind of rest it is going to be. I am not sure whether he has been rested or dropped”, Harbhajan Singh told India Today.
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The matter has got the immediate limelight, as selectors didn’t give a satisfying reply on his exclusion. It is understood that Ravindra Jadeja is rested for the series but Ashwin, he was the man who should have stayed in Sri Lanka but selectors decided to give a chance to Yuzvendra Chahal.
If Ashwin is rested, then why is he is going to England to play county cricket?
Ashwin is no longer the preferred choice for any captain in ODI cricket, and he is surely not an automatic selection for 2019 World Cup as well, despite the fact that he is the most senior spinner in Indian cricket at present. Though there are likes of Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh himself, selectors seem to move ahead from both of them.
Bhajji’s exclusion is justifiable but not in the case of Mishra. He has been dropped even after performing well, without any proper response.
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The ball is in now Ashwin’s court. He has to emulate his form of Test cricket in ODI cricket as well to be a member of the team. And it is also to be added that in Test cricket too, he has to emulate his home record in other countries or else, there as well he could see himself warming the bench, and if this happens, then the tag of home bully will be put alongside his name.
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