R Ashwin Slammed The Fans: With the announcement of India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad, there have been debates on social media on whether it is a good and balanced squad. While most expected names got a call-up, a couple of ‘deserving’ players missed the berth.
While the debates continue to grow, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who is not part of the squad, is irritated at such discussions.
R Ashwin Slammed Critics Of Tilak Varma And Suryakumar Yadav
Speaking on his latest YouTube video, Ashwin talked about the selection of two most-talked-about players – Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav.
The fact that Tilak Varma is yet to play an ODI match but was yet selected for the Asia Cup has led to several debates. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav, whose ODI form has been very bad, a fact accepted by the player himself, got a longer rope, didn’t go down well with the fans.
In a detailed analysis of India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad, Ashwin not only backed the choices of the selectors but also slammed those criticizing some of the picks. Ashwin backed both SKY and Tilak’s selection and slammed those creating differences. He said:
“The selectors know what they are doing. In a huge country like India, when you select a squad, there will be some key players who will be missing the cut. So, just because your favourite is not there in the squad, you should not degrade the others,”
Further, Ashwin also talked about Tilak Varma, who wasn’t able to replicate his incredible form in the ongoing series against Ireland. But Ashwin has backed the youngster and said:
“Tilak hasn’t scored much in this Ireland series so far. But he is showing unreal intent from the first ball. And this youngster is coming to bat with a clear mind. Since he is bringing some freshness into the squad, they have backed him for that backup slot. Similar to Surya,”
Ashwin also justified the selection of Suryakumar Yadav by saying that the right-hander’s exceptional T20I numbers make him an automatic choice for the marquee tournament. He said:
“He has that x-factor and that’s why the team is backing him to come good in the ODI format as well. We will go back in time to see how we have won World Cups. be it MS Dhoni or any other captain, they have backed their players to come good. Of course, if you want to have a for and against debate for dropping or selecting player, you can have a healthy debate. We all know how good a player Suryakumar Yadav has been. His impact, what a match-winner he has been, and he has been our go-to T20 player.”
R Ashwin blamed the IPL ‘warfare’ and asked an important question from the fans whether non-Mumbai Indians wouldn’t root for Surya if he and Virat Kohli were batting in the middle in the Asia Cup or World Cup.
“I think this is all IPL warfare. When you get into the World Cup, we should see all our players as representatives of India. Once IPL gets over, put a cloth, move on, and once the player plays for India, except that he played really well in the IPL. Fans are engaging in war even after IPL. Let us say, SKY is batting alongside Virat Kohli in a crucial chase. Even if you are not a Mumbai Indians fan you will appreciate Suryakumar and will want him to take us home, right?”
