Senior Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin has been in some sensational form off-lately. The cricketer has given many match-winning performances for team India and has turned out to be the biggest asset, especially in the longest format of the game.
Ashwin made a comeback to T20I cricket in the T20 World Cup 2021 after a long gap of four years. Though the Indian side couldn’t go beyond the Super 12, Ashwin managed to grab all the attention. Ashwin claimed six wickets in three matches during the T20 World Cup 2021. He continued with his brilliant form in T20Is against New Zealand at home as well.
Recently, BCCI’s President Sourav Ganguly admitted that he wasn’t sure whether Ravi Ashwin would be part of the Indian cricket team’s white-ball set-up again. However, he revealed that it was Virat Kohli, who was keen to have Ashwin in the T20 World Cup squad.
In a candid interaction on the chat show ‘Backstage with Boria’, Ganguly also hailed Ashwin for grabbing all the opportunities and performing brilliantly. He said:
“I wasn’t sure whether he would be part of the white-ball team again. But then Virat Kohli wanted him to be part of the World Cup. And, whatever little bit of opportunity he got, I thought he was superb.”
Ganguly showered praises on Ashwin and revealed how highly he is praised by everyone. Ganguly hailed him for what he has achieved so far in his career. He said:
“Everybody speaks about him. Look at Rahul Dravid’s statement after the (Kanpur) Test match – he called him an all-time great. You don’t need rocket science to judge Ashwin’s talent. My appreciation just comes from what I see. It may be Ashwin, it may be (Shreyas) Iyer, it may be Rohit (Sharma), it may be Virat (Kohli).”
However, despite all his achievements, Ashwin has been left out of the playing XI from the longest format of the game. He was also not picked during the Test series in England as well. Talking about the same, in the interaction, Ganguly said:
“I don’t see a reason why (I shouldn’t back him). Look at the number of winning teams he has been a part of. 2011 World Cup, he was part of the winning team for India. 2013, when he won the Champions Trophy, he was a leading bowler in that tournament. When CSK won IPLs, he was the main bowler for them, bowling in the powerplay and difficult situations.”
He added:
“Look at his Test record, it is phenomenal. It does not need me to say Ravichandran Ashwin is exceptional. His record and his performances show it. And you can’t ignore such players. You cannot just turn your eyes and say that he’s gone. I am not surprised with what he is doing.”
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