"He is our No. 1 Test bowler" - Virat Kohli's childhood coach wants Ravichandran Ashwin to find form
Former cricketer and Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma feels Ravichandran Ashwin's form is crucial to India's chances of making it into the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The veteran off-spinner picked up just one wicket in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram, illustrative of his inconsistent form of late. He simply didn't test the opposition batters enough even as fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav ended the match with an eight-wicket haul.
Rajkumar Sharma is hoping Ravichandran Ashwin finds his groove in the second Test against Bangladesh before the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy next year. Speaking to India News, here's what he had to say about Ashwin's form:
"Ashwin's bowling is a bit of a worry because I personally feel he is our No. 1 Test bowler. He hasn't had much success in Bangladesh and will need to find form if we want to get the four wins from our last five Tests to enter the final.
"The fitness of [Mohammed] Shami and [Jasprit] Bumrah is also not certain, which makes it even more crucial for Ashwin to find form."
Rajkumar Sharma on Kuldeep, Axar delivering in Ravichandran Ashwin's presence
While Ashwin seemed to struggle to take wickets, the other two Indian spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were excellent in Chattogram. Rajkumar Sharma was especially thrilled with the way Kuldeep made his comeback in Tests.
Star of Indian bowling: Kuldeep Yadav.
https://t.co/Vsub40LX7O
On this, he stated:
"The good thing here is that while Ashwin is struggling a bit for form, other spinners like Axar and Kuldeep have stepped up. Kuldeep especially has been brilliant on his Test comeback and is a crucial component for India if they want to keep on picking 20 wickets consistently."
India and Bangladesh will next meet in the second Test at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, with the game set to begin on December 22.
India's updated squad for 2nd Test against Bangladesh: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat.