Veteran Indian keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has come out in support of Ravichandran Ashwin as he stated that it is unfair to focus too much on Ashwin’s performances in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries.
Dinesh Karthik’s statements have come after cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar took a dig at Ashwin as he claimed that he has a problem with those who consider India’s Test specialist Ravichandran Ashwin as an all-time great player in Test format as he hasn’t scored a single five-wicket haul in SENA countries.
https://twitter.com/sanjaymanjrekar/status/140152468770476032210
Dinesh Karthik feels that Ravi Ashwin has done his job fairly well, even on the wickets that don’t offer much to the spinners. He feels that the off-spinner is a keen student of the game. Talking about the phenomenal performances of Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik said:
“A spinner’s role, especially when the pitch doesn’t do much is to not give too many runs and Ashwin does it brilliantly well. When it comes to playing in India, we have seen the wickets he picks. He is an absolute legend in India and he has put up so many performances and won more Man of the Series awards for India than anybody else in such a short time.”
He added:
“When there are so many things to speak in favour of him, human beings, being human beings, focus on something that he has not done. I think about what he has provided when India has toured abroad… He has not been able to take the five-fors but he has been able to pick up wickets, bowling long spells and keep it tight.”
Further, in the interaction, Dinesh Karthik also highlighted the best contribution of Ravi Ashwin with the bat at number 8 and called him one of the best batters around in the position. He said:
“He is not a random bloke who just turns up, he will have a plan, he knows what he is doing and gives you a lot with the bat at No. 8. He is probably one of the better No. 8s going around. For me, he is a fighter, a very skilled cricketer and a student of the game who wants to keep improving,”
Here, watch the video:
Is this the best ever Indian team? India cricketer Dinesh Karthik (@DineshKarthik) answers while in conversation with @BoriaMajumdar
Full Video: https://t.co/0UVLjdz5VT#WTCFinal #ViratKohli #TeamIndia #Cricket #Sports pic.twitter.com/oozlG5wfEO— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) June 7, 2021
