Gautam Gambhir took over as India's head coach from Rahul Dravid in 2024.
As India prepares for the ICC World Cup 2027, their loss to England recently will hurt. Despite the comeback of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah, India appeared far from a polished team capable of winning the 50-over World Cup next year.
One of India's most pressing issues is finding an alternative to Hardik Pandya. The pace-bowling all-rounder has had ongoing fitness difficulties, and it remains unclear whether he will be ready for the World Cup next year.
His alternatives include Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube, but the former has recently had multiple ailments.
Ashwin believes that India needs to find a concrete solution to this problem, and that makeshift all-rounders are not the answer.
"If Hardik is not there, it's Nitish Kumar Reddy and then Shivam Dube. There is no point in harping about players that are not ready to play in your combination. If they are injured, they are injured. That's par for the course in any sport. Look at the 2023 World Cup, which just fizzled out because Hardik wasn't part of the combination. But the moment it fizzled out, they were not searching, and they did not try to play the sixth bowler. They skinned the cat differently and went with five bowlers," Ashwin said on ESPNCricinfo.
Ashwin elaborated on how Rahul Dravid and co. approached the situation.
"They ensured the rest of the squad did not have a lack of clarity and were very stable even after Hardik's injury. They got to the final doing that. The players and the ethos in the dressing room is what will win you the World Cup. These bits and pieces have been a fascination for this management. That's probably why we have struggled in Tests, as Tests are firmly for the specialists. It's match-winners with the ball and bat that this management needs to keep at the top of their mind,” he added.
Ashwin believes that the way forward for India is to finalise a squad of 17-18 players and support them for the next 14 months while experimenting with different tactical configurations.
"There needs to be clarity before any discussions about personnel. Go to 17/18 players and tell them that we are going to pick the squad from that pool and they play the next 14 months, whoever that be. It has to have two keepers, three spinners and five pacers. Rotate the players in this pool with the vision of putting the best 11, come the first day of the World Cup. As of now, it's lacking a lot of clarity," said Ashwin.