India will play 3 Tests and 3 ODIs on the upcoming South Africa tour.
Former English pacer Steve Harmison feels that Indian off-spinner R Ashwin may not feature in the team's playing XI in the upcoming 3-match Test series against South Africa.
R Ashwin took 14 wickets in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand and was named the Player of the Series for his efforts as well, as India won the series 1-0.
During the course of the series, Ashwin also surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become the third-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests with 427 wickets to his name, just behind Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble (619)
The Indian team is due to tour South Africa for 3 Tests and 3 ODIs with the Test series starting from 26th December while the 50-over matches beginning from 19th January.
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There are a lot of speculations about whether R Ashwin will be in the playing XI or not as Team India often opts for a combination of four-seamers and one spinner when they play overseas.
Notably, R Ashwin didn’t play a single game on the England tour as captain Virat Kohli opted for the Ravindra Jadeja as the spin all-rounder, along with four fast bowlers.
In a video posted on his Youtube Channel, Steve Harmison suggested that Virat Kohli's vision for the team is different from "logic", which makes them unpredictable to him. Citing the example of Ashwin's lack of chances in England, he remarked that one can "never know what Virat wants".
"The problem I find in predicting this Indian side is there's logic and then there's Kohli's idea of what the team should be. Who on earth would have thought that Ashwin would have missed so much cricket against England? You can never what Virat wants what he is trying or his thinking process is," Steve Harmison said.
Harmison said that it wouldn’t be surprising if Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane play ahead of in-form Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal against South Africa. He also said that R Ashwin not playing a single Test in South Africa wouldn't surprise him.
"You would think the 2 young guys in Iyer and Agarwal would be going to South Africa on the back of scoring 100s in this series, it wouldn't surprise me if Rahane and Pujara plays and wouldn't surprise me if Ashwin doesn't play,” he said.
Harmison pointed that with Ravindra Jadeja batting at no.7, there will be room for one more spinner in the side. He quipped that the skill level of R Ashwin is as good as any seam bowler on a seam-friendly wicket.
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"Jadeja is important for this team with Pant at No. 6 and 7. Even though Akshar can bat and so can Ashwin. But Jadeja bats nicely at 7 and I still think there is room for one more spinner. The skill level for Ashwin is as good as any seam bowler would bowl on any seam-friendly wicket,” he said.
Harmison said that with the kind of skills R Ashwin possesses, he can be more threatening than the fourth seamer in the side. He further named Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as three pacers in the Indian side for Tests against South Africa.
"But this guy is so skilful, so meticulous and can create so much pressure that even your fourth seamer cannot be as threatening as R Ashwin. And then you pick your three fast bowlers, which for me would be Shami, Bumrah and Siraj,” he said.