Mohammad Kaif takes a dig at Indian selectors for excluding Ravi Ashwin from T20I squad
As far as the India squad for Australia is considered in the limited-overs format, the selectors have dropped the services of their ace spinner Ravi Ashwin. The senior spinner is not taken into consideration when the choices are made for ODI and T20I cricket. An integral part of the Test squad, Ashwin last played white-ball cricket back in 2017 against West Indies. Even after his fine campaign in IPL seasons, he has not been able to fall back into the team’s shorter formats. And the selectors’ ignorance has irked a certain Mohammad Kaif big time.
The power of ‘KulCha’
Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were dropped from the side simultaneously after the 2017 West Indies tour. It was reported that the team is rotating its players to manage workload. However, the management’s mind saw a complete shift when the emergence of wrist spinners came into relevance. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have turned the tables completely when the choices are made in the limited-overs.
The ‘Kulcha’ duo has become the top choice when the section of spin is considered in white-ball cricket. Ashwin didn’t earn a recall after being dropped since then, but Jadeja did get a recall and is now the regular part of the Men in Blue. In the same light, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif took to his Twitter handle on Wednesday to point fingers at selectors for dropping Ashwin constantly in T20I and ODIs.
Kaif is an assistant coach of the Delhi Capitals team and asked the critics to ‘read and re-read’ Ashwin’s big achievements in IPL 2020.
Virat, Rohit, Pollard, Gayle, Warner, QDK, Karun, Buttler, Smith, Paddikal, Pooran. Read and re-read @ashwinravi99’s list of big scalps from IPL 13, mostly in power plays. Feel Ash can still be a valuable asset for India in T20Is.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) November 18, 2020
The Indian team is all set to take on the Australian squad from November 27. The three-match ODI and T20I series will be followed by a four-match Test series between the two cricketing giants. Virat Kohli would miss three Tests owing to family commitments.
