The Indian captain Rohit Sharma came up with an epic response when a journalist asked him why veteran Ravichandran Ashwin isn’t picked in India’s playing XI for the overseas Test. Ravi Ashwin played an instrumental role in helping the Indian side win the first Test match against Sri Lanka in Mohali by 222 runs and an innings at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali.
During the game, Ashwin picked 6 wickets in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali and went past Kapil Dev’s record of 434 Test wickets.
Though, Ashwin has been one of the most consistent performers in the Indian setup, there have been many who have often downplayed his achievements. Critics like Sanjay Manjrekar have gone on record to say that they don’t consider Ashwin as an all-time great because of his performances outside India.
However, Rohit Sharma has a completely different opinion on this matter. During the post-match press conference, Rohit hailed Ashwin’s ability to get better with time. Ashwin, who is listed at number nine among top-10 wicket-takers in world cricket, is an ‘all-time great’ in Rohit Sharma’s eyes. He said:
“It’s a big thing in his cricketing career to achieve that feat you know. When you grow up wanting to play Test cricket, you don’t dream about these things and so to surpass that is a big achievement on his behalf. You know, I have been watching Ashwin for a long time now and every time I watch him, he seems to get better and better. Ashwin is one such player who always has confidence is in his ability in what he wants to achieve and for the team as well,”
He added: “He is an all-time great in my eyes. He is playing for so many years and performed for the country. So many match-winning performances, so for me he is an all-time great. People might have a different point of view but from where I see, he is an all-time great for me,”
However, despite Ashwin’s consistent performances, Ashwin has failed to feature in India’s playing XI in team India’s away matches consistently. He did well in the WTC final match against New Zealand but was benched for the entire tour.
Well, during India’s last tour to England, fans wanted Ashwin to play in the red-ball games, but he was benched by the team management for all the matches. When asked why Ashwin does not get game time in overseas matches, Rohit took a dig at the previous management and said:
“Really, can’t tell you anything about his overseas place and why doesn’t he find it and why is he in not in the eleven. Obviously, I have no idea as I wasn’t part of the selection at that point and I can’t tell you what happened and why was he left out and why didn’t he play and that kind of stuff.”
