Win Projections to be updated soon
The festival of cricket fans is going with full grace. Fans are enjoying every bit of it. This year, India is arranging the World Cup. Indian fans are even more excited. India started the campaign with a thrilling win against Australia. It was a perfect start to their World Cup journey. In the next match, they defeated Afghanistan. After that, they also secured a big win against Pakistan. They are still unbeaten in the tournament. But Ashwin and Shami didn’t play a single match. They are the talented bowlers of the team. That matter raised a debate. The ex-Chief selector talked about it.
What is the matter?
The Indian team is performing well. They are winning back-to-back matches. The bowlers are on a roll. But a strange thing caught attention. Experienced bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammad Shami are not playing the matches. They were not the automatic choice. The same thing happened with Ashwin. He was dropped so many times. He is the top among all active spinners across the globe.
Just before the World Cup, Ashwin made a comeback in the squad in the ODI series vs. Australia. He played well. He came back in the white ball format after almost five years. Initially, he was not included in the World Cup squad. After Axar Patel’s injury, he was named in the squad. He played the first match for India in Chennai. After that, he was dropped from the playing XI.
Another name is Mohammad Shami. He is one of the most talented pacers for India over the years. He was named in the squad but didn’t get any chance to play in the tournament. He is a match-winner for India. He served the team for many years. He showed his pace magic several times. India is focusing on players who can bat as well. That’s the reason why Shardul Thakur is playing the matches.
MSK Prasad’s view on that:
This is a bitter truth. Match-winners like them are sitting on the bench is quite hard to digest. Before the World Cup, fans were expecting to see Ashwin, showing his spin magic and Shami making the opponents clueless with his dangerous pace. But the wait continues. Former chief selector MSK Prasad shared his view on that.
Prasad said, “ What the team management is doing is absolutely right. If the wickets are conducive for spinners, then playing Ashwin is a good choice if it’s a flat deck then someone like Shardul offers something with both bat and ball becomes an option. As far As Shami is concerned, I think they will only play when the team management feels they need to rest either Siraj or Bumrah. They are very well-set with this kind of balance.”
He added, “ If you ask Ashwin, he will also agree with the team management’s decision. Do we require to win the championship or do we go on reputation? If we go by reputation then Srij shouldn’t be playing, Shami Should. This team has great camaraderie. Everybody has accepted this combination. As a fan, it pains me to see Shami sitting outside but if I’m thinking from the captain’s perspective, the decisions he is taking are fantastic ones. They are not going on reputation. They want to win the tournament by fielding the best possible XI on that particular day against that particular opposition.”
It is hard to see the match-winners of India sitting on the bench. But this is how the situation is. India is trying to make the playing XI according to their opponents. Following this, India is getting back-to-back success. They won three matches and were unbeaten in the tournament till now. That is a huge achievement. On October 19, India will face Bangladesh in Pune. That will be an exciting fixture.
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