Asia Cup 2023: Ravichandran Ashwin Backs Tilak Varma And Suryakumar Yadav's Selection In India's Squad For Asia Cup
Published - 23 Aug 2023, 12:02 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:17 AM
Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently opened up about young batter Tilak Varma’s selection in India’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Ravichandran Ashwin mentioned that Tilak Varma displayed an aggressive batting approach in the ongoing T20I series against Ireland.
The inclusion of Tilak Varma in India’s Asia Cup squad raised questions, as the young player has yet to make his ODI debut. Surprisingly, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson was overlooked by the selectors for the upcoming six-team tournament despite a strong record in the 50-over format.
Tilak Varma Hasn’t Scored Much In Ireland Series – Ravichandran Ashwin
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin stated that Tilak Varma can add freshness to India’s middle order as a backup player.
“Tilak hasn’t scored much in this Ireland series so far. But he is showing unreal intent from the first ball. And this youngster is coming to bat with a clear mind. Since he is bringing some freshness into the squad, they have backed him for that backup slot. Similar with Surya,” Ashwin said.
The left-handed batter made an impact with the bat in his debut series against the West Indies, scoring 173 runs in five innings with an impressive average of 57.67 and a strike rate of 140.65. However, he registered scores of 0 and 1 in the two innings against Ireland.
Suryakumar Yadav Has That X-Factor – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin emphasized that Suryakumar Yadav possesses the X-factor that motivates the selectors to include him in the ODI format despite having a poor record.
“He has that x-factor and that’s why the team is backing him to come good in the ODI format as well. We will go back in time to see how we have won World Cups. be it MS Dhoni or any other captain, they have backed their players to come good,” Ashwin further added.
“Of course, if you want to have a for and against debate for dropping or selecting player, you can have a healthy debate. We all know how good a player Suryakumar Yadav has been. His impact, what a match-winner he has been, and he has been our go-to T20 player. I think this is all IPL warfare.”
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 (travelling reserve).
