Sourav Ganguly on Ashwin: Sourav Ganguly has given his opinion on who is the best spinner in India. Ganguly has chosen Ashwin as the best spinner in Indian cricket at present. Ganguly believes that Ashwin must play in the Indian XI in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Ashwin, who has been the cause of debate among former cricketers and fans due to being sidelined in decisive matches including the World Test Champions final in 2023, has again become a topic of discussion
Ganguly Picks Ashwin as India’s Best Spinner
The Perth surface is very beneficial for fast bowlers, spinners have struggled to take wickets. In the presence of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, what will be the most likely XI? Will India field only one spinner in the playing XI? Sourav Ganguly has given his opinion on this and believes that Ashwin must play in the Indian XI, as he is India’s best spinner.
Ashwin did not perform particularly well in the recent series against New Zealand, leading to speculation about his inclusion in the playing XI for the upcoming Test in Perth. However, the former BCCI president has no doubts about Ashwin’s selection. For him, the 38-year-old Ashwin stands ahead of both Jadeja and Sundar.
Ashwin or Jadeja? Ganguly’s Clear Choice
Ganguly, while talking to Boria Majumdar on Revsports, said, “There is no debate in this .. Ashwin should play. Your best spinner should play. In Test cricket, specialists should play. Also, against many left-handed batsmen in the Australian line-up, Ashwin will definitely make an impact.”
Let us tell you that while Jadeja and Sundar took 16 wickets together in the Test series against New Zealand, Ashwin was able to take only 9 wickets. Another important factor in Ashwin’s performance was that he could not take wickets in the first and third Tests. On two occasions, he missed out on taking wickets, due to which he was criticized.
Even after this, Ganguly expressed confidence in including Ashwin in the playing XI as the experienced player is India’s “best spinner”. He said, “Yes, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar are there and both bat well, but you should go with your best spinner in the first Test. In Tests, you should play with specialist batsmen and bowlers. That is why my choice is Ashwin.
India’s squad for Border-Gavaskar series:
Rohit Sharma (captain) (not playing the first Test, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia squad for the first Test:
Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
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