Ashwin has been picked in the T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2022.
India's Ravichandran Ashwin is certainly one of the finest spinners to ever play the game. His performance in Test cricket is a testimony of his greatness - 442 wickets in 86 games.
He used to be India's strike bowler in white-ball cricket as well, but a slight decline in form and the emergence of wrist spinners resulted in him being axed from the ODI and T20I squads.
However, Ashwin made a comeback to the Indian limited-overs team for the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE on the back of solid performances in the IPL. He was later recalled for the five-match T20I series against West Indies after being dropped once again in the interim.
With three wickets against West Indies in three games and an economy rate of under 7, the veteran spinner once again proved his mettle.
According to the former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, Ashwin is one of those spinners who can quickly change from being an economical option to a wicket-taking one.
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Mushtaq also feels that the Indian selectors have wasted Ashwin's years by overlooking him in white-ball cricket.
“There are two types of bowlers - one who sets traps to dismiss batters and one who are economical. Ashwin is the only player in the world who can do both these things. He has both the gears. I feel India selectors were unfair by dropping him from the white-ball team. He is a world-class bowler and one of the greats. Now that he has been selected, I think Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid must have an influence, even the selectors as well, I feel this is a very good move by the Indian team,” he said.
The 35-year-old will next be seen in action on Sunday (August 28) when the Men in Blue take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium.
(NEWS18 INPUTS)