New Delhi: Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion in India’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad was nothing less than a surprise as the veteran off-spinner hadn’t played white-ball cricket for India since 2017. He got a chance after India’s defeat in the first two games. Although India failed to shine at the event but the off-spinner made full use of the opportunity and claimed six wickets in three outings with his economy rate being below six.
Recently, newly appointed India coach Rahul Dravid hailed Ashwin and called him a “match-winner” in the longest format of the game. Joining the likes of Dravid, former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, recently spoke about the immense contributions made by the all-rounder in the marquee event.
“I wasn’t sure whether he would be a part of the white-ball (set-up). But then Virat Kohli wanted him in the side. And whatever little bit of opportunity he got, I thought he was superb,” Ganguly said at Boria Majumdar’s show ‘Backstage with Boria’
Ganguly also said that Ashwin’s phenomenal Test record makes him hard to ignore.
“Look at his Test record, it is phenomenal. It does not need me to say Ravichandran Ashwin is exceptional. His record and his performances show that he is exceptional. And you can’t ignore such players. You cannot just turn your eyes and say that he’s gone. I am not surprised with what he is doing,” he said.
Ashwin has also been an integral part of the recently-concluded Test squad in the series against New Zealand, where he went past Harbhajan Singh to become India’s third-leading wicket-taker in the longest format of the game.
“Everybody speaks about him. Look at Rahul Dravid’s statement after the (Kanpur) Test match – he called him an all-time great and one of the biggest match-winners. You don’t need rocket science to judge Ashwin’s talent. My appreciation just comes from what I see. It may be Ashwin, it may be (Shreyas) Iyer, it may be Rohit (Sharma), it may be Virat (Kohli). And I just say what I see. There is nothing more to it,” he added.
Ganguly stated that Ashwin’s past performances over the years gave every reason for him to back the spinner in any format. He even pointed out Ashwin’s significant roles in India’s ICC-winning tournaments along with the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“I don’t see a reason why (I shouldn’t back him). Look at the number of winning teams he has been a part of. 2011 World Cup, he was part of the winning team for India. 2013, when he won the Champions Trophy, he was a leading bowler in that tournament. When CSK won IPLs, he was the main bowler for them, bowling in the powerplay and difficult situations,” elaborated Ganguly.
