Table of Contents
India star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed his disappointment over the constant targeting of Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid. Ashwin took a brutal dig at the fans and critics for questioning the duo’s decisions during the ODI series against the West Indies.
It is worth mentioning that Indian management faced huge criticism for their experiment with the batting line-up and team combination throughout the 50-over series against the Caribbean side. The Men in Blue skipper and opener Rohit came down to bat at no. 7 in the opening ODI, while Virat Kohli didn’t get a chance to bat.
On the other hand, the second ODI saw India’s experienced campaigners Rohit and Kohli being rested from the match and India facing an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the hosts. The two stalwarts were benched in the subsequent match as well. However, the Hardik Pandya-led Indian team bounced back strongly in the final game and clinched the series (2-1).
Although India managed to win the series, the sudden experiments with ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 just around the corner didn’t go down well with many cricket experts and fans as they lambasted Rohit and Dravid for their approach.
Also READ: Ravichandran Ashwin shares insight on why Bazball won’t be feasible for India
Ashwin takes a brutal dig at netizens and cricket experts
India’s veteran spin wizard Ashwin has now come forward in support of his captain and head coach and took a brutal dig at cricket pundits for their trolling of Rohit and Dravid.
Speaking about the same on his official YouTube channel, Ashwin backed Rohit and Co. and slammed the netizens for trolling Indian management. He highlighted the double standards of trolls by stating that first, people wanted Rohit and Virat to be dropped after the first ODI, and then they instantly started blaming their absence as the main reason for the Men in Blue losing the second game.
“India lost the second ODI and immediately the trend in social media was – why so-and-so players played and why so-and-so players did not play. I seriously don’t understand why this outrage. Rohit and Virat didn’t play in the second ODI. Even in the first match, Rohit batted lower down the order. So the debate was around whether Rohit and Virat should have played,” Ashwin said.
“Some of them were perplexed at how we lost to a team that didn’t even qualify for the World Cup. Many people think that India’s only job in international cricket is to win the World Cup. The main reason why we consider ourselves favorites to win the World Cup is because of the IPL,” he added.
Ashwin justifies Indian management’s decision to rest Rohit and Virat:
Ashwin further shed light on the possible reason why Dravid had opted to rest senior players and justified the decision by terming it a call taken as a precautionary measure.
“ODI matches are very stressful. It will take at least two days for your body to recover. The first two matches in West Indies were played in a gap of 24 hours. Thus, there are more chances of you getting injured. Already we have so many players recovering at the NCA. Bumrah is back after a long hiatus. Prasidh Krishna is back too. So, we have so many injury problems. It seems like people are finding points to blame Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma just for the sake of it,” said the Tamil Nadu cricketer.
