IND vs BAN: "I Feel Bad For One-Day Cricket, Ash" - Ravichandran Ashwin Reveals MS Dhoni's Views On ODIs

As Team India fight it out in the Asia Cup and gear up for the all-important ICC World Cup 2023, Ravichandran Ashwin has shared some words of wisdom from the legendary MS Dhoni about ODIs.

MS Dhoni bowed out of international cricket as one of the most decorated skippers in the history of the game. In 2007, he led Team India to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup before taking the team to the pinnacle of Test cricket. In 2011, India won the ODI World Cup under MS Dhoni’s captaincy before winning the Champions Trophy two years later.

Till date, MS Dhoni is the only captain who won all three ICC tournaments as captain. Apart from the ICC competitions, the former India skipper also guided the team to numerous famous wins in bilateral series across formats.

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Ravichandran Ashwin recalls MS Dhoni’s views on ODIs:

No Indian captain has managed to lead the team to glory in ICC competitions since MS Dhoni guided the team to win in the 2013 Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma will be the latest man to try his luck as a captain next month when he leads Team India in the ODI World Cup.

And ahead of the tournament, Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed how MS Dhoni used to approach ODIs. The spin ace revealed that the wicketkeeper-batsman loved the ODI format because it allowed the teams to both absorb and put the pressure back on the opponent.

“MS Dhoni told me one day, ‘I feel bad for one-day cricket, Ash.’ Because ODI is his most-favorite format. I asked him, ‘Why, Mahi Bhai?’. He replied, ‘The beauty of this format is that there will be pressure, we will absorb the pressure and then we will start putting pressure on the opponent. In the end, we will see who finishes the game properly’,” Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. “For him, it’s always about, ‘who finishes the game properly’ given the master that he was.”

Speaking further, Ravichandran Ashwin picked India as the favourites to win the 2023 ODI World Cup at home. The veteran spinner, who was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team, stated that the bigger grounds and tougher batting conditions will aid India. He opined that the tougher conditions will see the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul making a big difference.

“I always think to myself, ‘This is our strength, guys. Why do you want to deviate from our strength?’ I will explain about the deviating thing. Huge ground, slightly tougher conditions to bat. See, T20 cricket has changed the landscape of ODI cricket.

“Flat wickets bridge the gap between high-quality batsmen and not-so-good batsmen. For example, power vs. finesse. Virat Kohli is more of a finesse. And he has the ability to finish games. KL Rahul is also finesse. He has also got the quality. Shubman Gill has also got unbelievable finesse. Rohit Sharma has got finesse,” said Ravichandran Ashwin.

The ODI World Cup is scheduled to be played from October 5 to November 19. India will open their campaign against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8.