Asia Cup 2023: Ravichandran Ashwin Applauds India's Top Batting Order, Says 'Gill, Rohit, And Kohli Are Not Only Our Engine Room But...'

India spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin heaped praise on the Men Blues’ top-three batting order of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. Ashwin wants the team management not to change the top batting order in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023.

There was a lot of criticism regarding India’s batting order, especially in the middle order since the players failed to score runs in recent India’s tour of the West Indies.

The Men in Blues have suffered a lot in the recent past after KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were both injured at the same time and were doubtful to take part in the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup. However, both the middle-order batsmen, Rahul and Iyer have been included in the Asia Cup 2023 squad.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

During the press conference when the squad was announced, Ajit Agarkar said that Shreyas Iyer is fit now, but KL Rahul still has niggle and will be fine after 2nd or 3rd game of the tournament, and that is why Sanju Samson will be traveling with the team as a backup player.

Shreyas Iyer last played a competitive match in the fourth game of the Border Gavaskar trophy and after that, he went through surgery and failed to hit the pitch. On the other hand, KL Rahul played his last match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 during the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore match and had to go through surgery as well.

When it comes to openers, Gill and Rohit are locked: Ravichandran Ashwin

While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said that the three top-order batsmen are locked, and if one of them is not available, Ishan Kishan is there to replace them.

“When it comes to openers, Gill and Rohit are locked. In case one of them isn’t available, you have the backup opener/wicketkeeper in Ishan Kishan. He has fielded well too and has scored a double hundred as well. So the opener/wicketkeeper backup gives the team that combination and balance,” Ravichandran Ashwin said.

The India spinner said that Virat Kohli should not be played in the number four place like many cricket experts have suggested but should be given his original spot.

“Many ex-players including Ravi Bhai (Shastri) have said that Virat Kohli, if needed, should be made ready for No.4. But Rohit has rubbished these talks and has locked in Kohli at No.3. Gill, Rohit, and Kohli are not only our engine room but also biggest match-winners in this format,” Ravichandran Ashwin added.

Rohit Sharma-led India will start their Asia Cup 2023 journey against Babar Azam’s Pakistan on Saturday (September 2nd) at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka.

India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (Back up).