Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that any team should remain stable with the playing eleven in international tournaments; However, on the contrary, he has also described Ishan Kishan’s recent form as very impressive, which could inspire the selectors to make changes.
Indian selectors have backed Sanju Samson for the T20 series against New Zealand after a long absence during the Australia and South Africa series. However, Samson could not show anything special, which shows that he is more worthy than Shubman Gill.
In contrast, the Indian selectors had made a surprise choice of including Jharkhand left-hander Ishan Kishan in the squad as the second-choice keeper for the ICC T20 World Cup. However, he has retained the faith shown by the selectors and has performed brilliantly on his return.
Ravichandran Ashwin backs India to keep things steady ahead of World Cup
Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been Sanju Samson’s biggest supporter after he was unfairly dropped from the shortest format of the game. Ashwin is now back at the forefront as Samson struggles for form against New Zealand in the ongoing series.
Leaving aside the first two matches, which were high-scoring games, one batting first and the other batting second, where Samson failed to score, he also failed miserably in the third T20I in Guwahati when India had to chase just 154 runs. Samson was out for a golden duck off the bowling of Matt Henry.
Samson, who has managed to score only 16 runs in 3 matches, could not be saved by Ravichandran Ashwin on this occasion. However, Ashwin has called for maintaining stability within the team ahead of this important event.
“It is debatable. I know Sanju personally and I have a personal relationship with him, I played with him for three years in Rajasthan. He is a lovely cricketer and he has always not got enough chances.”
“He is getting opportunities now, but honestly, if you look at it properly, I am always not in favor of making too many changes before the World Cup. I always think keeping things stable really helps,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“But the way Ishan Kishan is batting, how can you ignore it?” -Ravichandran Ashwin
However, the great Indian spinner himself admitted that the way newcomer Ishan Kishan is batting, it is becoming impossible to ignore his exploits. The left-handed batsman has been placed at no. 3 in place of the injured Tilak Verma and he has scored 112 runs in 3 matches with a blistering half-century and a strike rate of over 200.
Ishan Kishan, along with captain Suryakumar Yadav, won the second T20I for India in Raipur when India were chasing a mammoth target of 209 runs against the Blackcaps.
“But the way Ishan Kishan is batting, how do you ignore him? Of course, it’s about keeping things steady, but how can you ignore him? Whatever happened, Shubman is an example for it. Why was Shubman in that position? Because after seeing the partnership between Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, that partnership looked dangerous. But the way Ishan Kishan is batting, how can you ignore it? Can ignore? It’s very difficult,” Ashwin commented.
Ravichandran Ashwin then said that, therefore, the Indian management will have to make massive cuts. If they want to remain steadfast and stick with Samson, that’s understandable, and if they want to try a change and promote Ishan Kishan to the top, that would also be a ‘warrant qualification’.
Ashwin highlights Sanju Samson’s weaknesses in T20Is
During the discussion, Ravichandran Ashwin also revealed the pattern of Sanju Samson’s dismissal. He recognized that wicketkeeper batsmen were getting out to short balls near the body, which left them short of room against England.
Even against the New Zealand bowlers, his areas of concern have been the same: straight and in the body. So Samson will have to do a lot of work in this area. He claimed that this has become a trend for Samson.
“Now, against New Zealand, if you look at these three T20Is, almost all the balls are going on middle and leg stump. They are bowling straight to him, and if it is short, it is on the body. This is an area that Sanju Samson definitely needs to work on,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
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