Former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju has opined on the debate over the exclusion of the veteran off-spinner R Ashwin from the recently drawn first Test of the ongoing five-match Test series in England.
Indian cricket team went with four pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Shardul Thakur, and the spinning all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for the first Test against England. Virat Kohli’s decision to not play Ashwin at Trent Bridge didn’t go down well with many.
However, Raju said he understands India’s decision to go with Jadeja, but felt Ashwin should have been part of the playing XI against England in the first Test.
Raju told ANI: “Whoever follows cricket, they all have their opinions right? If someone has taken 400 wickets and he is not getting a chance, there will be questions raised and that has already started to happen. But then, the team management is better to judge, England went in without a spinner and the Indian team went in with four seamers and one spinner.”
He further added, “There is a lot of discussion about it. Jadeja comes in as an all-rounder, whenever you go abroad, that is the problem one spinner faces. When Harbhajan was doing well, Sourav got him in and Kumble also had to go through this. We all feel Ashwin should have been part of the XI, as he is a wicket-taking bowler. Ashwin should have been the first-choice spinner.”
He also believes that Team India has started the England tour on a good note despite the first Test ended in a draw after the final day was abandoned due to rain at Trent Bridge.
India was well set for victory, needing only 157 runs to win on Day 5 with nine wickets in hand against England.
Raju noted, “We dominated all the sessions right from Day 1. We were in a good position but you cannot do anything with the weather right. The only area of concern we had was that there were not enough matches for India heading into the first Test, but the team came back strongly. The way they performed, you have to give credit to the team. I think they have started on a good note.”
On Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s dismissal for a golden duck by James Anderson, he said: “It is always the best bowler versus best batsman. In 2014, Kohli got out to Anderson four times. In the next tour, Anderson was not that successful. This is the kind of battle people look forward to, that is the buzz.”
He added, “Great players always come back; the first ball you cannot do anything, but the first ball getting out, now the battle has started. People will be waiting to see this battle. In the 90s, the battle was between Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar, that is how it goes, champions always find a way to come back.”
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The former spinner also spoke on the struggling batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane: “This is not a question of pressure, this is what they expect from them right? They have been playing for so many years, Pujara is close to 100 matches, Rahane has been doing well abroad. This is what happens when expectations are there, that is the standard they have created for themselves, the buzz will always be there. It is just the first Test, as long as you are winning; this should not be a matter of concern.”
Raju also said he would be disappointed if India does not win the ongoing Test series in England considering the fact that the hosts have a fragile batting line-up whereas the tourists have probably the best bowling attack at their arsenal this time around.
He signed off by saying, “That is what has been happening. England players hardly played county games before the series because of the bubble, they just played one-two match, the talent you can see, performance-wise, this England line-up is as fragile as it gets.
After seeing the 1st Test after how India dominated and if they do not win, we will all be surprised. We have been world number one for a long time, probably the best bowling attack we have now, if we do not win this series, we all will be surprised.”
(With ANI Inputs)
