T20 World Cup 2022: “Who is the closest?” - Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur imitate Harbhajan Singh’s action, check who won
India ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and India’s T20 World Cup net bowler Shardul Thakur took a fresh challenge as they imitated legendary Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh’s iconic action during team India's net session ahead of the Super 12 opener.
Sharing the video on Instagram, Ashwin wrote:
“Who is the closest?”
Harbhajan was impressed at Ashwin’s bowling action. He said:
“That was actually nice.”
He, however, was surprised to see Shardul’s action and questioned.
“Is that correct?”
The off-spinner has been named alongside Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel in the India squad for the showpiece T20 event. The experienced bowler will use his experience and exploit the conditions to his advantage in Australia as the Men in Blue chase only their second title at the T20 World Cup.
In a recent press conference, he said:
“We come to Australia, the boundaries are far bigger. It gives a bit of license for the bowlers to work with. It’s also very important to understand these conditions, the lengths you have to bowl and be brave enough to take those 50-50 options in these places and it’s a completely new experience.”
The 36-year-old recently shone in the second practice match against Western Australia, where he picked up 3/32. He was also economical for the Men in Blue against Australia in the warmup fixture but ended wicketless.
“I don't think spin will be a huge threat”- Harbhajan Singh on Ashwin and Co’s prospect at T20 World Cup
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh thinks spin will not be a massive threat in Australia, unlike the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. He also said the Indian batters would be able to tackle the spinners.
Speaking to Star Sports, he said:
“I don't think spin will be a huge threat as you're playing in Australia where there won't be much side-spin. Indian batters need to play attacking cricket and try and dominate the spinners. If they do that, then I believe we will tackle them easily. The match is played in Australia, not Dubai.”
Rohit Sharma and Co. will begin their Super 12 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday (October 23).
Ashwin will be in the fray for India playing XI against Babar Azam and Co. The veteran has picked up 66 wickets in 59 T20Is at a decent economy rate of 6.8.
India squad for T20WC: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Shami.
Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Shardul Thakur.