Ravi Shastri Believes Ravichandran Ashwin Could Have Stayed If Aware Of Spin Plan
Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket after the third match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was drawn. After his retirement, people questioned his sudden retirement. Just a few days after his retirement, India went with two spinners in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar are included in India's lineup; Sundar was brought in as Gill's replacement in the team after he got dropped from the Boxing Day Test. Former India coach Ravi Shastri shared his views, stating that if Ashwin had known about India's strategy of playing two spinners in the Melbourne Test, he might not have announced his retirement.
Shastri said in the fourth Test,
"If Ashwin had known that India would play with two spinners, he probably would not have retired. Ashwin had said goodbye to his international career midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after taking 537 Test wickets in 106 Tests. Captain Rohit Sharma had hinted that Ashwin's retirement was also a decision he took considering the direction of Team India in terms of spin bowling department.
Shastri stated that if Ashwin had known that there were two vacant spots in the playing eleven for the Melbourne Test, he might have stayed. He also said that he would not have left Shubman Gill out of the Playing XI but would have picked between Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar. Ashwin got the chance to play in the pink-ball Test out of three Tests against Australia in the ongoing series.
Shastri said,
"This is a courageous decision. I would have chosen Gill. It would have been difficult to choose between Reddy and Washington, but he kept faith in them. "
Shubman Gill is facing a lot of struggles with his bat in the series. On the other hand, Nitish Reddy has been performing consistently with both bat and ball; this is one of the reasons India is staying with him in the playing XI.