Asia Cup 2022: 3 reasons why Ravichandran Ashwin must replace Yuzvendra Chahal
India named a slightly tweaked playing XI for their 2022 Asia Cup Super 4 encounter against Pakistan from the one that played in the tournament opener.
Ravindra Jadeja and Avesh Khan's respective injuries forced the team management into a couple of changes, while Rishabh Pant was selected as the wicketkeeper over Dinesh Karthik.
India chose to play both leg-spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya were the pace bowling options.
Fakhar Zaman goes for the big hit, but finds Virat in the deep.
@yuzi_chahal picks up his first.
Pic courtesy - @ACCMedia1
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As it turned out, Chahal finished with figures of 1/43 from his four overs and a case could be made to drop him and select Ravichandran Ashwin instead for the remainder of the Asia Cup.
Here are three reasons why the former Chennai Super Kings off-spinner should replace Chahal:
#3 Why have two leg-spinners in the squad?
India playing two leggies, Chahal and Bishnoi. Interesting!
The selection of two leg-spinners raised a few eyebrows. The reaction was quite natural as Bishnoi and Chahal presented the same threat to opposition batters and some variety in the bowling line up would have been great for the Men in Blue.
The pitch wasn't the usual Dubai strip with a tinge of grass on it but it was a flat deck, suitable for the batters to play freely. This is where some variety in the bowling would have helped captain Rohit Sharma as Chahal couldn't contain the flow of runs.
Bishnoi, on the other hand, was economical, giving away just 26 runs in his quota of four overs while picking up the all-important wicket of Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
Thus, playing Ashwin over Chahal in their next Asia Cup Super 4 encounter could turn out to be a great move. India next face Sri Lanka in the tournament on Tuesday, September 6.
#2 Ashwin is capable of stemming the flow of runs in middle overs
A T20 encounter is often won or lost in the middle overs, and this is where Ashwin could come into play. The off-spinner, who has a plethora of variations in his arsenal, is highly economical in the shortest format of the game.
The 35-year-old has conceded runs at an economy of 6.95 in T20 cricket overall and at 6.78 in T20 internationals. His ability to stem the flow of runs in the middle overs could help Rohit and Co. to a great deal in tight matches.
With every Asia Cup match now virtually a do-or-die encounter, playing Ashwin over Chahal in the next match should be a no-brainer.
#3 Ashwin could be handy in Australia due to the extra bounce on offer
Team India head coach Rahul Dravid recently suggested that the management will try and field their strongest XI from now until the upcoming World Cup.
While it is a given that three seamers will take up bowling spots in the playing XI at the upcoming World Cup, the spinner's spot is still up for grabs, especially considering Jadeja's potential unavailability for the tournament.
So giving Ashwin a run of games wouldn't be a bad idea, especially since the extra bounce on offer down under will be of great aid to the off-spinner's style of bowling.