Harmison pointed out R Ashwin's performance in English conditions to support his claims.
While the Indian pacers did a great job in bundling out the hosts for 183 with Jasprit Bumrah picking 4/46 followed by Mohammad Shami who took 3/28, former England pacer Steve Harmison felt Ashwin should have been playing the first Test match.
“I’m surprised; I’m very surprised. I think the England cricket team might be having a little smile in that dressing room and thinking ‘we’re happy with Ashwin not playing’. He got runs with the bat; he was unbelievable with the ball in India,” Harmison told ESPNCricinfo.
“Ashwin has got a ridiculous number of wickets in English conditions. He played County cricket, got six wickets against Surrey not long ago,” he added.
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The right-arm quick then pointed out how both the experienced spinners Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin have been successful on tracks that offered little to no assistance to spinners and how Indians could beat themselves by not picking the right XI.
“India could beat themselves by not picking the right side. We’re talking about two senior spin bowlers who have bowled a lot of overs in Test cricket, who understand the game, who control the game even if the ball is not turning and still have a positive impact,” the 42-year-old said.
“So for me, as an English man, I’m over the moon with this Indian team because I think Ravichandran Ashwin should have been playing for India, alongside Jadeja,” Harmison concluded.
As far as the first Test between India and England is concerned, Indian openers Rohit Sharma (9 off 40 balls) and KL Rahul (9 off 39 deliveries) made sure the tourists finished Day 1 with all their wickets intact as the scoreboard read 21/0 at stumps on Day 1.
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)