Ravichandran Ashwin Criticizes Senior Players For Degrading Quality Of Tamil Nadu Cricket

Tamil Nadu cricket team suffered a second straight defeat as they surrendered at the hands of Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy tournament in Dindigul on Thursday. The veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up nine wickets in the match but ended up on the losing side. Following their 71-run loss, the spinner spoke about what needs to be done to Tamil Nadu cricket right back on track.

At the same time, he launched a scathing attack on Tamil Nadu Cricket Administration (TNCA), team management and senior players for poor first-class health. Tamil Nadu’s weakness was exposed in their defeat to Himachal after they lost seven wickets for 42 runs while chasing the target of 217.

There is too much inexperience in our side: Ravichandran Ashwin

In an interview with Sportstar, Ravichandran Ashwin explained everything in detail about the current situation of the Tamil Nadu cricket team. He said that the side lacks enough experience. It should be noted that three senior players- Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay and Washington Sundar didn’t play the game as they picked up wrist, ankle and finger injuries respectively.

“I don’t know where to start and where to end to be honest because I don’t think there is any lack of effort. I feel there is probably too much inexperience. Losing three players, who were batsmen with experience, from the last game didn’t help. We were outplayed in both the games, especially on the batting front,” Ashwin said.

Ravichandran Ashwin said that senior men were responsible for degrading the quality of Tamil Nadu’s red-ball cricket. He also cited an example by tagging S Badrinath, former India and Tamil Nadu batsman, who moved to Vidarbha in 2014-15, after spending 15 seasons with Tamil Nadu. Ashwin felt that senior players with a wide range of experience should guide the youngsters such that Tamil Nadu cricket can shine.

“We cannot allow the senior players to be the way they want. We need to make them inclusive to get the maximum out of them. The last time when somebody like Badri left, it was not the right time for him to leave. He went to Vidarbha and capitalised on two good seasons. The team grew. Somebody with such a wealth of experience should be here, guiding our youngsters,” Ashwin echoed.

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