R Ashwin’s exclusion has been the talking point ever since the five-match Test series between India and England commenced a month ago. The talks reduced post the incredible win in the second Test at Lord’s.
However, there have been calls to include Ashwin in the playing XI became loud after the disastrous outing at Headingley in the third Test match where the team lost by an innings and 76 runs.
R Ashwin played a solitary County match at The Oval while playing for Surrey in July. He picked 1/99 and 6/27 in the match against Somerset and India's Dinesh Karthik said that the time is ripe to include Ashwin in the playing eleven.
"I believe the time is ripe for Ravichandran Ashwin to make his first appearance of the series. Traditionally, The Oval has thrown up some of the flattest pitches in England, and it has been no different this season. Three of Surrey's five matches at home in the County Championship have ended indecisively, and ten hundreds have been registered in those games," wrote Karthik in his column for The Telegraph on Wednesday.
"If I was Virat Kohli, I'd like to bring a new dimension into play in this crucial Test. As Ashwin has shown in his storied career, he hasn't necessarily relied on assistance from the surface to make an impact," added Karthik.
Karthik explained the advantage that the off-spinner will bring if he plays the fourth Test at the Oval.
"England have two left-handers in their top three and three in the top seven. The off-spinner's record against lefties is second to none, and he is more than handy against the right-handers, who he tests with the knuckle ball and the floater that he has mastered through hours of diligent practice away from the harsh spotlight of the international game,” he wrote.
He added that Ashwin was able to bowl well in Australia and got Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne multiple times.
"In Australia, Ashwin got excellent drift with the Kookaburra ball, getting it to curl away from the right-hander in the air and break back on pitching. That's how he had Steve Smith caught at leg-slip in the second Test in Melbourne.
He is equally comfortable switching to around the stumps and getting the ball to go away with the angle, a trick that netted him the prized scalps of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, Australia's two best batsmen,” the 36-year old wrote.
He mentioned Ashwin’s capability with the ball against the left-handed batsmen.
"One of Ashwin's specialties is that he lets the ball hang in the air; because he has big fingers, he imparts a lot of revs, which makes him particularly venomous whilst bowling to the lefties."
Karthik concluded saying Ravindra Jadeja has to contribute more with the ball and that Ashwin could chip in with the bat too.
(With IANS inputs)
