Former Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun has said that the Indian team will play veteran all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at Perth’s Optus Stadium. He said he should be used as a potential spinner. In an interview with Revsportz, Arun described the veteran as a “very thinker” player and spoke about his impact in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. There he took 12 wickets in three matches and played in a drawn block at son. Sydney’s Hanuma Vihari doesn’t get the recognition she deserves.
“If you ask me, I would play Ashwin as my first-choice spinner for India. He has played for Australia and is a very sensible cricketer. His influence is not always fully appreciated. I can understand the way he played against Steve Smith and Usman Khwaja, the fact that there is a left-handed pitcher in the batting lineup, and it has to be Ashwin, and I think he is good considering his performance in Sydney. About what we are talking about,” Arun told Revsport.
In 10 Tests for Australia, Ashwin took 39 wickets at a rather disappointing average of 42.15, with a best performance of 4/55. He also scored 384 runs in 19 innings at an average of 24.00 and made two fifties.
Stacked with spin partner Jadeja, Ashwin has more experience but Jadeja has better stats. In four Tests, Jadeja took 14 wickets, averaging around 21, with his best figures of 4/62. He also scored 175 runs in five innings at an average of 43.75 and scored two fifties.
Washington, who also scored a half-century, totaled 84 runs and took a total of four wickets in his only Test appearance for Australia, was in contention for a spot following an impressive performance in the home series against New Zealand. are. He topped the charts with 16 wickets in two matches and also scored 89 runs in four innings.
Arun spoke about the inexperience of India’s bowling line-up, which was without Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Jadeja and Umesh Yadav due to injury during the iconic 2021 Gabba Test, and Washington, Shardul Thakur. , said T. Natrajan participated. I remained in the team as a back-up/net bowler and watched the entire Test series unfold in Australia to clarify my role.
Arun said: “Losing Jasprit (Bumrah), Ashwin, (Mohammad) Shami, Umesh (Yadav) and (Ravindra) Jadeja is never easy. We actually lost the entire attack. But… , that’s where you need to be.” To step up as a coach, you need to enjoy the challenge. I know in Bumrah, Shami and Ashwin, I have great players who will each do the job for me. It makes your job a little easier when these bowlers are available to you whether Bharath Arun is there or not. ”
“But things were very different at the Gabba. You could say we were lucky because of Covid-19. We were living in the era when Washington, T. Natarajan and Shardul Thakur were in the team. We couldn’t get a substitute from India and we had to bring them in just in case. What we were wise to keep in mind was that they saw everything that happened in Australia, what we wanted and what we were looking for for two months. “None of them had to explain what we wanted them to do because they were with us,” he added.
Arun recalled that this inexperienced bowling line-up enjoyed the challenge of beating Australia at the Gabba and winning the series, keeping things simple.
“Each of these players has made it into the Indian team for a reason. They are good enough to be in the top 20 in the country. That’s all we were reminded of. They needed to play to their strengths to the fullest. They don’t have to worry about the result, and the rest is history,” he concluded.
After the series opener in Perth on November 22nd, a day-night second Test will be played under the lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6th to 10th.
Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18. The traditional Boxing Day Test is scheduled for December 26-30 at Melbourne’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground and will be the penultimate stage of the series.
The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to the much-awaited series.
Indian team for Border-Gavaskar series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Juler (wk) , Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk) , KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal.
Australia squad ready for first test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Stark.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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