IND vs WI: India Needs Ravichandran Ashwin In Prime Form To Reach Next WTC Final - Saba Karim

Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim feels that Ravichandran Ashwin will be a crucial player for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25. Saba Karim said that if India needs to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final once again, Ravichandran Ashwin needs to be in his prime form.

His words arrive after Ravichandran Ashwin gave a marvelous performance against West Indies in the 1st Test. The right-arm spinner hunted 12 wickets in the match to rip apart the Caribbean’s batting order. He grabbed a five-wicket haul in the 1st innings and later returned with a 7-wicket haul in the other innings.

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India Needs Ravichandran Ashwin In Prime Form To Reach Next WTC Final: Saba Karim

While speaking on Jio Cinema, former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim said that India should play Ravichandran Ashwin in the SENA countries in the current World Test Championship cycle.

“I hope that in this World Test Championship cycle, he gets to play in the SENA countries even when India goes in with a solitary spinner. I think that’s the biggest call that the Indian team management has to take,” the 55-year-old said.

Saba Karim, who played 34 ODIs and 1 Test for India, also said that India needs Ashwin in prime form to qualify for the WTC final once again.

“There is a constant evolvement of R Ashwin, we have seen that in the past few years. For him to understand the shifting paradigm of international cricket and understand how to become a better bowler and how to get rid of good batters of spin bowling, we have seen that over the past few years.

For India to remain in contention to qualify once again for the World Test Championship final, you need someone like R Ashwin to be in prime form,” Karim further added.

Notably, Ashwin was not picked in the playing XI during ICC World Test Championship 2023 final against Australia. India later lost the match by 209 runs. Ashwin’s ouster was thoroughly criticized by fans and experts, as the off-spinner was the top-ranked ICC Test bowler at that time.

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Meanwhile, Ashwin is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing India vs West Indies Test series. Ashwin has grabbed 13 wickets in the series so far at an average of 14.77. In the ongoing 2nd Test in Trinidad, West Indies trails by 209 runs after reaching 229-5 in the 1st innings.

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Earlier, India posted 438-10 batting first. For India, Virat Kohli (121) shattered a century. Rohit Sharma (80), Yashasvi Jaiswal (57), Ravindra Jadeja (61), and Ravichandran Ashwin (56) slammed half-centuries. India won the 1st Test by an innings and 141 runs and lead the series 1-0.