"India have made a mistake by not playing Ravichandran Ashwin" - Danish Kaneria
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria feels India have made a mistake by leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI. The veteran off-spinner has been one of India's biggest weapons with the ball, but failed to find a place in the XI at Lord's.
Kaneria feels Ravichandran Ashwin could have contributed with both bat and ball and would have been an asset to the Indian team. He was also India's go-to bowler in the World Test Championship final and thus, Danish Kaneria was left baffled by Ashwin's exclusion.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Danish Kaneria explained how handy Ashwin could have been at Lord's. He also compared what variety Ravichandran Ashwin offers compared to Ravindra Jadeja.
"I think India have made a mistake by not playing Ravichandran Ashwin. You needed a bowler like Ashwin at Lord's. He could have given you wickets and also could have scored runs down the order. He could have been a key figure for the Indian team in this Test match. Jadeja contains runs well but Ashwin is a wicket-taking bowler," Danish Kaneria opined.
Looking at the pitch and conditions, Ravichandran Ashwin should have played: Danish Kaneria
Danish Kaneria feels the pitch might have enough assistance in it for someone like Ravichandran Ashwin as the latter likes to extract extra bounce from the surface.
India are in a good position to post a huge first innings score. But Kaneria feels they missed a trick by not including Ashwin in their bowling plans.
"No doubt all the Indian bowlers are highly capable of picking wickets. But looking at the pitch and conditions, I feel Ashwin should have played. Many are saying that India has played an unbalanced team and we will get to know more when they bowl," Danish Kaneria concluded.
Only time will tell whther India will feel the pinch of Ashwin's absence with the ball.