Ravichandran Ashwin who recently retired from the international circuit in the Border-Gavaskar trophy has been again into the limelight for the selection of Indian team by the head coach Gautam Gambhir for the upcoming Champions Trophy squad.
Through his youtube channel, he wanted Nitish Kumar Reddy to be in the squad in place of Washington Sundar. According to him, Reddy can give assistance to the pace attack which will boost the fast bowling attack of the team. Also he can add valuable runs towards the end as he might come to bat at number 8.
The Indian team got selected a few days back for the upcoming ICC tournament where three spin all-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar got their names into the list. While Hardik Pandya is the only pace all-rounder who can assist in the pace department along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
According to Ashwin,
“Does it make sense to have a player like Nitish Reddy in the scheme of things? If Kuldeep plays at 9, it’s two pacers and three spinners. With Nitish, he could bat at 8, allowing Kuldeep at 9 and two fast bowlers. This would provide the luxury of four fast bowlers and two spinners. I don’t know if he was considered.
Kuldeep is a lock at No. 9, as the primary spinner. Among the finger spinners, I think one fast bowler could have been accommodated. I’m sure there were discussions. Another scenario involves Washington Sundar. I’m not biased, but Gautam Gambhir highly values Washington due to his batting. He can also be used as a floater.
If you follow the World Cup format, you play either Jaddu or Axar at No. 6, Hardik at 7, and Washington at 8. This allows for three fast bowlers or Kuldeep and two pacers, maintaining balance with Hardik’s all-round skills.
If Washington bats at No. 7, it weakens the batting. Ideally, he should bat at 8.
Washington Sundar at 8 might not be feasible if dew is a major factor. In that case, Kuldeep Yadav would bat at 8, and the team would likely go with all seamers – Arshdeep, Bumrah, and Shami. In the 2023 World Cup, we lacked batting depth from No. 8 onwards. These are the crucial questions that need to be addressed.”
Also he excluded Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jasiwal from his playing 11 in the Champions Trophy. His playing 11 is as follows:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja/ Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami.
Nitish Kumar Reddy profile credit: cricbuzz.com