Only Ravi Shastri And Virat Kohli Can Answer - Former Pakistan Cricketer On Why Ravichandran Ashwin Didn't Play In England
Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt was puzzled by the decision to keep Ravichandran Ashwin out of India’s playing XI earlier this year in the 5-match Test series against Joe Root’s men in England.
Ashwin’s worth in the longest format is well known but captain, Virat Kohli, and head coach, Ravi Shastri opted to exclude him taking into consideration, the conditions in England. Since pace bowling, in general, gets the most assistance on English shores, the need for a second spinner apart from Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t clear.
“Well, what can we say? We kept saying he should have been played. I say this time and again, he is as good as anybody with the ball as a spinner. Probably even the best spinner at the moment. Why didn’t he play? Only coach Ravi Shastri and captain Kohli can answer that better,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
“I was even shocked that they didn’t play Ravichandran Ashwin in a place like Dubai” – Salman Butt
Salman Butt further revealed that Ashwin’s exclusion from the Test squad wasn’t nearly as surprising as his omission from the first two games in the Super 12 stage of the recently concluded T20 World Cup. India went on to lose both those games and exited from the group stage.
“Since he has come back into the team, he keeps on proving telling everyone why he is important to the team, the difference his presence makes, and what they have been missing. I was even shocked that they didn’t play him in a place like Dubai (during the T20 World Cup) and bowlers with lesser experience were given games,” Butt opined.
India defeated New Zealand by 372 runs on Monday to record their biggest-ever victory margin and also win the 2-match series 1-0. Ashwin contributed with 14 wickets of his own and also a couple of cameos in the lower order.
