Martin Crowe accuses Indian team management of treating R Ashwin like a robber

R Ashwin (File Photo)

Martin Crowe, writing his column for cricket website ESPN Cricinfo, expressed his disappointed at R Ashwin not featuring in India’s plans for the first Test in the series against England. The former New Zealand captain questioned how the off-spinner, who became the fastest Indian to reach 100 wickets last year, could be dropped for Stuart Binny and Ravindra Jadeja.  

"Someone please explain why R Ashwin is now a spectator? Frankly, he would be my fourth automatic pick after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in this Indian Test team. He is a banker, yet he is being treated like a robber. He is being treated like a wheelie bin, dumped on the side of the road. Instead, Stuart Binny is deemed the better Test player. Talk about a mystery," Crowe noted.

The 51-year-old didn’t stop there, as he went on to describe Jadeja as an “ordinary” bowler who can’t be given the task of being the team’s premier spinner.

“Normally, spin would be India's sure thing. No longer is that case if Ravindra Jadeja is deemed your best spinner. It smacks of something extremely odd. Jadeja can bat, often flamboyantly and recklessly, and as a leftie at No. 7 he can do some damage. But his left-arm spin is nothing short of ordinary. At best he is a third-choice spinner in Indian conditions, where three are often needed," he added.

Both Jadeja and Binny went wicket-less in England’s first innings as India’s bowlers failed to break the record-breaking 10th wicket stand between Joe Root and James Anderson that went on for over 53 overs.