“The right thing to do” – Ravichandran Ashwin on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s absence from T20Is ahead of ODI World Cup

Ravichandran Ashwin has lauded India captain Rohit Sharma and senior batter Virat Kohli’s decision to skip T20Is ahead of the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023, scheduled to be played in India from October 5 to November 19. The ace spinner believes that the break will help them in the marquee tournament.

For the uninitiated, Kohli and Rohit haven’t played T20Is after the 2022 T20 World Cup. They recently missed the five-game T20Is in West Indies (WI). Interestingly, the duo also didn’t play two of the three ODIs in WI due to experimentation.

Ashwin said on his YouTube channel on Saturday, August 19:

“Both [Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma] of them skipping and getting ready for the 50-over World Cup is a good decision and personally, both of them know their cricket very well since they have been playing for such a long time. So, they are using their experience and want to concentrate on the 50-over World Cup, which is exactly the right thing to do.”

The off-spinner further picked Mohammed Siraj as India’s lead pacer for the 50-over World Cup. The latter has stepped up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, with 19 wickets in eight ODIs this year so far.

Ashwin said:

“We know the spinners as well. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Axar Patel is a backup we have in the spinning all-rounder category. Siraj, Shami and Bumrah. Bumrah hasn’t played a lot in the last 11-12 months. So, the go-to marquee player for us during this period when it comes to the 50-over format has been Mohammed Siraj. So, I don’t think we can look beyond him. He is an automatic pick.”

Ashwin further lauded Mohammed Shami for his well-deserved break during the WI tour for renewed focus ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup. He said:

“Mohammed Shami got a break during the West Indies series. It was as if a much-needed break for him to get him ready for the marquee event in World Cup. So, Mohammad Shami will be back.”

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“Where will you bring in three left-handers?” – Ravichandran Ashwin replies to Ravi Shastri for India’s squad for World Cup

Ravichandran Ashwin, meanwhile, replied to the former India coach Ravi Shastri on how there is no possibility of playing with three left-handed batters in the marquee tournament.

Ashwin said:

“He [Ravi Shastri] brought up another point. He said we should have at least three left-handers in the top 7. Where will you bring in three left-handers? I am talking about the top 7. Hardik is a fix, and Jadeja is a fix. We have a left-hander among them.

"Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli are all fixed in the top 3. We don’t have a left-hander there. If KL Rahul is fit, he will be the keeper batter, and he is also a fix. If Shreyas is fit, he is also a fix.”

He further explained the scenario of how Tilak Varma can be included in the India squad for the ODI World Cup.

“The only thing here is we should see if someone is performing extraordinarily well, and recently, Tilak Varma’s name is doing the rounds. Even I am mightily impressed with Tilak. He’s going to be the future pillar of our batting. He has surely got the potential. No doubt about that.

"He will be going to the Asian Games. There is a thought process of drafting them into the Asia Cup squad. Only if one of Shreyas Iyer or KL Rahul isn’t fit, Tilak Varma might come in. Otherwise, almost every slot is full in Indian XI.”

Varma recently emerged as India’s leading run-getter in five-game series in WI, scoring 173 runs, including 51 and 49*.