Ravichandran Ashwin’s form will determine the fate of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, believes former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who would not want the team’s main spinner to “overplan” against Australia in the upcoming Test series of four matches. Shastri, under whose tutelage India won back-to-back Test series in Australia, also has no hesitation in naming Kuldeep Yadav as his pick as the third spinner while retaining Suryakumar Yadav as a powerful mid-range game-changer.
“Ashwin, you don’t want him planning too much. He’s good enough to stick to his plans as he’s a crucial player here. His form could decide the series. Ashwin comes as a package, he will give you important runs.” too,” said Shastri, answering a question from PTI during an interaction hosted by Star Sports, the official broadcasters of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
“If Ashwin is on fire, it could decide the outcome of the series. He is world class in most conditions, but in Indian conditions he is deadly.
“So you don’t want Ashwin to think too much and try too many things. Just keep it there and let the pitch do the rest because as it is, it does enough in India,” Shastri, one of the brightest minds in Indian cricket , said.
To another question as the third spinner, Shastri replied, “As for the third spinner, I’d like to see Kuldeep play right away. Jadeja and Axar are pretty similar bowlers. Kuldeep is different. If you lose the coin toss on day 1, you’ve got someone needed to put a stop to it.
“If anyone plays it on Day 1, it’s Kuldeep. If the track doesn’t have too much going for it, Kuldeep can come into play.” He also gave another major reason for including Kuldeep in the playing XI.
“As the game progresses with the fast bowlers the Australians have, the rough will come into play on both sides of the lane. So wrist spinners can spin the ball back either way.” Shastri is unapologetic when asked what kind of number he would like.
“I want the ball to spin from day 1. Lose the toss, so be it. Something on offer from day 1, play at home, cash in.”
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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