India’s senior bowler R Ashwin has come out in support of Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid. Ashwin didn’t hold back as he was seen fuming over certain fans and experts for their ‘over-reaction’ to team management’s decision to bench Rohit and Virat Kohli in the ODI series against West Indies.
R Ashwin Shuts Rohit Sharma And Rahul Dravid’s Critics
Disappointed with the public sentiment over the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Ashwin defended Rahul Dravid and Rohit. He feels some people are only trying to find reasons to blame the captain-coach duo without understanding the extent of injuries the squad has at the moment. In his latest video on YouTube, Ashwin said:
“India lost the second ODI and immediately the trend in social media was – why so-and-so players played and why so-and-so players did not play. I seriously don’t understand why this outrage. Rohit and Virat didn’t play in the second ODI. Even in the first match, Rohit batted lower down the order. So the debate was around whether Rohit and Virat should have played,”
Further, Ashwin also highlighted that the fans expect the team to win almost every time they play. He said:
“Some of them were perplexed at how we lost to a team that didn’t even qualify for the World Cup. Many people think that India’s only job in international cricket is to win World Cup. The main reason why we consider ourselves favorites to win the World Cup is because of the IPL,”
Ashwin Defended Team Management
Ashwin further gave plenty of logical reasons to defend the team management for resting Rohit and Virat Kohli. He cited examples of Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, who are all set to return to the Indian set-up. He said:
“Already we have so many players recovering at the NCA. Bumrah is back after a long hiatus. Prasidh Krishna is back too. So, we have so many injury problems. It seems like people are finding points to blame Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma just for the sake of it,” Ashwin added.
“They are trying different players now because they know what they went through during the last T20 World Cup. We didn’t have Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah and we didn’t have many fast bowlers. That’s why we are trying different options before the ODI World Cup,”
