Delhi Capitals Co-Owner Slams Indian Team-Management For Not Backing Ravichandran Ashwin And Rishabh Pant

In a surprising turn of events, Parth Jindal, head of Jindal South-West Sports (JSW Sports), the co-owner of Delhi Captials, has questioned the exclusion of two players from his franchise – Rishabh Pant and R Ashwin – from India’s limited-over teams. While Ravichandran Ashwin has not played for India for more than two years now. Rishabh Pant has also fallen down the pecking order in recent times.

Ravichandran Ashwin has not played for India’s limited-overs team since the tour of West Indies in 2017. After the tour, India dropped him and Ravindra Jadeja in order to make room for Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. But while Jadeja returned to the ODI team in 2018, Ashwin has not been recalled.

And the way things are turning out at the moment, it would not be surprising at all if he does not get a recall any time soon. On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has been dropped from the playing eleven of all the three formats in the last six months. He lost his place in the Test playing at the start of the home season as India recalled the experienced Wriddhiman Saha.

But he was persisted with in the ODI and T20I teams with MS Dhoni not available. However, the left-handed batsman failed to grab the chance. He suffered concussion during the first ODI against Australia and KL Rahul kept wicket when India took the field. Since then, Pant has been on the bench for all nine of India’s limited-overs matches across formats. Virat Kohli has also said since that India now favour Rahul who has been in stunning form.

Parth Jindal lashes out at treatment of Ashwin and Pant:

Parth Jindal has made it clear that he is not at all impressed with the way Ravichandran Ashwin and Rishabh Pant are being treated. The comments from the Delhi Capitals co-owner are set to raise some eyebrows as this is the first instance of an IPL franchise’s owner expressing his or her displeasure over how the national team has treated their players.

Parth Jindal took to Twitter to express his views. He said that instead of staying in the reserves during the limited-overs legs of the New Zealand tour, Pant should have ideally played for India A. He also questioned why India could not find a place for Pant in the final matches of the T20 and ODI series after India and New Zealand had won the respective series by then.

“And why carry @RishabhPant17 only for him to warm the bench?,” Jindal said in one of his tweets on Wednesday. “Surely he would have benefited from paying against New Zealand A or domestic cricket? To see a player as talented as him not play the 5th T20 and now the 3rd ODI makes no sense #Xfactor.”

In another tweet, he expressed his surprise over Ashwin not being a part of the  T20I team, writing:

“Don’t know why @ashwinravi99 is not in this team! There seems to be an aversion to wicket takers! After white washing the kiwis in T20’s the Kiwis showing India that the semi final victory in the World Cup was no fluke. India needs wicket takers and players with X factor.”

And why carry @RishabhPant17 only for him to warm the bench? Surely he would have benefited from paying against New Zealand A or domestic cricket? To see a player as talented as him not play the 5th T20 and now the 3rd ODI makes no sense #Xfactor

— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) February 11, 2020

Don’t know why @ashwinravi99 is not in this team! There seems to be an aversion to wicket takers! After white washing the kiwis in T20’s the Kiwis showing India that the semi final victory in the World Cup was no fluke. India needs wicket takers and players with X factor

— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) February 11, 2020