IPL 2022: "They don't like getting out to bowlers inside the team" - Ravichandran Ashwin explains why he loves bowling to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

Ravichandran Ashwin has picked Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the two batters he loves to bowl against in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The premier off-spinner said the two star batters hate to get out to their India teammates, which makes the contest fun.

He has gone head-to-head against both Kohli and Rohit 19 times in the IPL. The former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper has scored 160 runs against him at an average of 160 and a strike rate of 128, getting out only once. Meanwhile, Rohit has been dismissed by the spinner twice, but has 109 runs at a strike rate of 91.30 against the 35-year-old.

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo's show "Polite Enquiries", Ashwin called both "quality batters", adding that because he doesn't get to play against the duo often, he looks forward to the IPL for it. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) spinner said:

"I love going head-on with Virat and Rohit, to be honest. I think they are two quality batters that have played with me inside the dressing room, not two batters that I've got repeated contests against at an international arena. But I get to go against them in the IPL format so I love going against them. They don't like getting out to bowlers inside the team so I enjoy the contest and look forward to it every year."

He will get to bowl against Rohit and Kohli back-to-back this season. RR will play Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday (2 April) before taking on RCB three days later.

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"Not too sure about it" - Ravichandran Ashwin on his record against left-handers

Ashwin also spoke about his enviable record against left-handers in international cricket. He is the only bowler to take 200 Test wickets against the southpaws. The veteran offie didn't have a simple explanation for it and said:

"I am actually not too sure about it. Even at the nets, I am not bowling to a lot of left-handers. There are not a lot of left-handed Indian batters coming through so I am not bowling to a lot of them. [It] may be psychological, maybe something that I am used to, or maybe something I like. I am not entirely sure about it."

According to the IPL 2022 schedule, the Rajasthan Royals-Mumbai Indians match will be played at the DY Patil Sports Academy and will start at 3:30 pm IST on Saturday.