Former Indian middle-order batsman VVS Laxman has backed Ravichandran Ashwin to replace Rohit Sharma who flew back home to meet his wife and a baby girl after recently becoming a father.
Ashwin is expected to recover in time from the side strain which has kept him away from the second and third Test of the ongoing series against Australia.
Laxman believes that Ashwin will help India to ease the burden on the fast bowlers. Further, he added that Ashwin got the knack of scoring runs, which would be useful down the order for the Indian team.
The Hyderabad born former batsman went on to add that India is in a pretty happy place before going into finals of the game. He also highlighted the fact that the SCG Pitch is going to be a turner, which would certainly put Ashwin in the scheme of things.
“The inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin will not just strengthen the spin department but also ease some of the burdens on the quicks. As he has shown many times in the past, Ashwin has the technique to do well with the bat overseas. I would back him to make a successful return to the playing XI, just as I would back India to sign off with a win and bring back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in style,” the 44-year-old wrote in his column for The Times Of India.
“Brilliantly placed to win their first series ever in Australia, India will approach the final Test full of confidence. Going by what Tim Paine has said, a turner is on the cards in Sydney which, in my eyes, makes the call of who should replace Rohit Sharma fairly obvious,” he added.
Currently, India leads the four-match Test series 2-1 with a match to be played in Sydney which will start on Thursday. If India wins or draws the fourth and final Test match they will create history by winning a Test series for the first time down under.
