IND vs ENG: Shane Watson Feels Ravichandran Ashwin Will Be India's “Main Man” In The Battle Against Ben Stokes

Former Australia National Cricket Team all-rounder Shane Watson has opined that the veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is going to be India’s “main man” in the battle against England National Cricket Team red-ball captain Ben Stokes in the rescheduled Test match.

The 5th and last Test match of the series between India and England, which was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 scare in the Indian camp, will be played at the Edgbaston, Birmingham from Friday, July 1.

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England will be heading into the match with a lot of momentum on their side having registered a dominant 3-0 Test series win over the World Test Champions New Zealand. Notably, England won the games by chasing down stiff targets of 277, 299 and 296 in swashbuckling style.

Meanwhile, India will be without their captain Rohit Sharma in the rescheduled Test match as he has been ruled out of the match after failing to recover from Covid-19. Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be leading India in the Test match against England and Rishabh Pant will be his deputy.

The battle that I am really looking forward to is Ashwin and Ben Stokes – Shane Watson

Former Australia all-rounder Watson said that he is excited to see the battle between Stokes and Ashwin. He added that the wicket of Stokes will be one of the most valuable wickets for India as he is the captain of England

“The battle that I am really looking forward to is Ashwin and Ben Stokes. Ashwin has had his measure a lot over his career. But now also there is more importance on Ben Stokes’ wicket, even more so than ever because he is captain,” said Watson in a video on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) website.

“In the Australian cricket team, it’s always like if we can work over the captain and try and make it a really not so good series for them, then the ship can start to sink a little bit. Ashwin is going to be the main man to try and make the most of that battle. He does match up incredibly well,” he said.

Veteran off-spinner Ashwin didn’t get the opportunity to play any of the Test games in the series against England last year and India only played one spinner in all 4 games, which was Ravindra Jadeja.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: It Was Fascinating To See How Virat Kohli Led India In Tests: Ben Stokes On The IND-ENG Series So Far

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