India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that he felt like he was being "thrown under the bus" after a remark by former head coach Ravi Shastri left him crushed during a torrid phase in his career when he contemplated retirement multiple times.
Shubman Gill dispelled all doubts about his thumb injury with a stylish fifty even as skipper Rohit Sharma kept cards close to his chest by coming in at No. 4 in India's curtailed pink-ball warm-up game against Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Sunday.
Battling chilly temperatures in Dharamsala, Team India prepared for the final showdown between India and England on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
India might have felt the absence of their injured No 1 spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday, rose to a career-high second in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers even as A B de Villiers lost his top spot in the batsmen standings.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted at number seven against , promoting the likes of Sam Curran, Jadhav and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of himself but the ploy backfired badly
Asserts he has 'performed well abroad in the last 18 months'.
But the star of the show was hometown boy Axar, finishing with 11 wickets in the game (six in the first innings and five in the second). Senior partner Ashwin wasn't to be left too far behind as he picked four wickets to finish with 7 in the game and also reached the 400-wicket mark in Test cricket.
Axar Patel made an expected comeback to the side for the first two Tests against England.
'We just need to keep backing ourselves. With three games to go, we don't want to test ourselves but keep the momentum going.'
'It is not due to my effort that I am sitting out of the team, it is due to the supply and demand that the team requires.' Ravichandran Ashwin tries to figure out why he is not being considered for the Indian team in ODIs and T20Is.
Rajasthan Royals take on Punjab Kings aiming to seal their IPL play-offs berth, in their penultimate league match.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has criticised the Indian bowling attack terming it as an unit that "lacks depth" as the only wicket-taking bowler is off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Following their loss in the T20I series to West Indies, the young Indian team, led by Hardik Pandya, faced a lot of criticism and backlash.
Anil Kumble was also keen to retain Ashwin, who captained the side in the previous two editions.
Ravichandran Ashwin made most of helpful conditions and finished with wonderful figures of four for 40 as Australia struggled to 231 for eight after electing to bat in the fourth Test.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin termed his delivery to dismiss Steven Smith as a more "satisfying one" compared to the one that helped him get rid of Mitchell Johnson on the opening day of the fourth and final Test against Australia.
Ravichandran Ashwin termed India's first innings score as slightly below par on a "two-paced" Wanderers pitch, but added that it could be enough for their bowling arsenal to make a match of the second Test against South Africa.
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon termed Indian players as superstars' while hoping to revive his on-field rivalry with India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Impressed by India's brilliant showing at Lord's, spin legend Bishen Singh Bedi feels the only trick the team has missed so far in England is not playing Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ravichandran Ashwin said that the slowish tracks in the Caribbean will be a big challenge for the spinners and he is ready to bowl "boring lines all day" during the upcoming four-Test series against the West Indies.
India's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been fined 10 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day's play in the first cricket Test against Australia in Chennai on Sunday.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be the key to India's success in the Test tour of the West Indies, their first series under head coach Anil Kumble.
In case Ravichandran Ashwin is ruled out, the Indian team management's preferred choice is Yuzvendra Chahal.
In need of a victory to firm-up their position in the IPL play-offs race, Chennai Super Kings have the heavy task of nullifying a deeply hurt and frustrated Rajasthan Royals in Chennai on Sunday.
Ravichandran Ashwin is a prolific performer but former Australia chinaman bowler Brad Hogg believes that fellow countryman Nathan Lyon has upstaged the Indian tweaker as the best off-spinner in longest format. Ashwin has so far taken 365 wickets from 71 Tests, while Lyon has 390 wickets from 96 Tests.
Buttler departed after an angry exchange with Ashwin and his exit condemned the Royals to a 14-run defeat in their IPL opener in Jaipur.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin did the customary Bhangra after Kings XI Punjab's win over Rajasthan Royals in Mohali on Tuesday.
'...whether he is a top player or not, it doesn't matter.' 'If I go by a player's name I won't be able to bowl at my best.' 'For me he is just a batter, and my only focus is where I need to land the ball.'
A bowler of Ravichandran Ashwin's calibre can't be put on "trial", while someone possessing Suryakumar Yadav's ability need not worry about his place in the World Cup squad.
While this may not secure qualification outright, it would certainly keep them in contention. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead drew inspiration from the inaugural WTC cycle in 2019-21, when New Zealand won six consecutive matches enroute to securing the title.
Former opener Gautam Gambhir backed Ravichandran Ashwin's return to the One-Day International squad ahead of the World Cup, saying a finger-spinner like him could be as effective as a wrist-spinner in English conditions.
Ravichandran Ashwin has stopped bothering about landmarks 'long, long time back' as his only endeavour is to work on his craft and be useful every time when he plays for India.
'After the eight-over mark, we felt the wicket was a good one. In our view, we were ten (runs) short. It was a good pitch; it tends to get better here.'
'I see them as well rested India players. Could have been selected for the Duleep Trophy.'
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
The curator of the Wankhede stadium, Sudhir Naik was deeply hurt by off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's sarcastic remarks about the pitch, which produced a thrilling draw on the fifth and final day of the third Test between India and the West Indies in Mumbai on Saturday.
Ashwin went on to cite examples of other domestic stalwarts like Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Virat, Ishant set to return for England series starting Feb 5 as selection for first two Tests takes place on Tuesday.
'Bumrah is not the right option for captain.' 'All the pressure to deliver is on his shoulders. So taking on the mantle of captain will be added pressure.'
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