ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Geoffrey Boycott questions Ravichandran Ashwin's dropping
What’s the story?
Geoffrey Boycott has raised serious questions about India benching Ravi Ashwin for its first two games in the ICC Champions Trophy. In a column for the Times Group, he says:
“Why is Ravichandran Ashwin not playing? I know the standard answers about how subcontinent teams supposedly play spin well, and so he was not used against either Pakistan or Sri Lanka, but Ashwin is the best spinner in the world! He's clever, experienced, a good bat when required, so it makes no sense to me that he's sitting on his backside watching. For heaven's sake, even England have a leg spinner, an off spinner, and a part-time off-spinner!”
Boycott further iterates that he has failed to understand India’s strategy and believes that on a flat pitch like the one at The Oval, possessing a varied bowling attack is of prime importance.
“India still seems to think, like some of the other teams, that the ball will seam in England when the weather is poor; but ODI matches in England over the last five years have seen some truly impressive batting scores. Earlier, the ball would seam and swing in cold or overcast weather; but a few years ago, all our Test match grounds spent nearly a million pounds on new drainage, and better drainage helps groundsmen produce better batting surfaces,” added the 76-year-old.
In case you didn’t know...
In order to play the extra batsman and attacking with three pacers upfront, the Indian team management decided to leave Ashwin out of the playing XI. The move didn’t seem to deter them in their opening clash against Pakistan but backfired in the very next game against Sri Lanka.
Also read: 5 reasons why Ashwin should play against South Africa
The details
The former England cricketer believes that bowlers like Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are required to induce variation in the Indian bowling attack. He further asserts that they have the ability to unsettle batsmen and eventually, take their wickets.
He also argues that it is not possible to completely curtail batsmen and opponent team from scoring gargantuan totals in ODI cricket. Hence, the bowling department needs to be looked at as an ‘ only-attack’ option in limited overs cricket.
What next?
In his pre-match conference with the media earlier today (June 10), Virat Kohli said that the team for India’s all-important clash against South Africa tomorrow will be decided on the basis of what the conditions have to offer.
Considering that AB de Villiers’ team has six left-handed batsmen, the Indian skipper might just bring in Ashwin, who takes the ball away from the left-hander.
Author’s take
While Boycott asks the right questions with his column, the intricacies of team management and selection of playing XI is an issue that can be completely understood only if you’re in the nexus of the proceedings.
Ashwin might as well make his way into the playing XI tomorrow, but whether or not it will be a good move remains to be seen.