India Team and coach divided over Ashwin's responsibility in the Southampton loss
What's the story?
In the fourth England-India Test at Southampton, India lost out on a very remarkable winning opportunity, after securing a first-innings lead against the hosts. Among the many reasons that have been cited as reasons for the loss, Ashwin's bowling has been called upon as one of the paramount causes.
It appears, however, that there is a rife amongst teammates and coach as to whether the right-arm offie can actually be blamed.
In case you didn't know...
India dismissed England to 246 runs and then hoarded up 27 runs more in their first innings. In reply, the hosts made another 271 before giving India a target of 245 to chase. After looking fine at 123/3, India lost the remaining 7 wickets for 61 runs as they fell short of the target by 60 runs.
A section of people blamed Ashwin for not coming to use for India as much as he would have wanted to. They highlight their claims by pointing at England's Moeen Ali, who returned from the game with 9 wickets. They say that had Ashwin tried to be a bit more effective, England's second innings may not have gone as far as 271 runs.
The heart of the matter
During a recent press-met, coach Ravi Shastri was deeply critical of Ashwin's approach in the game. He explained that the situation was simple – according to him, Moeen Ali found the rough patches and pitched the balls right, while Ashwin did not do the same.
“It's as simple as that,” Shastri had concluded.
However, the same was not what Rahane's take was when he spoke to the media. He had said that Ashwin bowled “brilliantly” in the Southampton game.
He also went on to elaborate that team physio Patrick Farhat would be forming an idea on Ashwin's fitness ahead of the fifth Test after he was spotted to stay away from bowling in the nets during practice.
What's next
The groin injury has supposedly gotten the better of India's 3rd-leading wicket-taker in Tests, as he has been rested for the final Test that is currently going on at the Oval, a pitch that is known to help spin bowling. Jadeja has taken the place of spin-bowler, instead.