Arjuna Ranatunga backs the selection of Ravichandran Ashwin for the Indian team
Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has made a comeback into the ODI squad of team India for the series against Australia before the ODI World Cup 2023, which is going to be played in India.
Legend of Sri Lanka ArjunaRanatunga has backed the selection of Ashwin in the Indian team, as he also wants to see the off-spinner in the mix for the World Cup. The 1996 World Cup-winning captain explained that the inclusion of Ashwin makes all the sense given that India is entering the World Cup with just one specialist spinner in Kuldeep Yadav.
During an interview, Ranatunga said, "I don’t know whether India has two proper spinners. They have good all-rounders who happen to be spinners, but I can’t see a proper spinner on this side. On Indian pitches, they need a strong group of spinners. If not, it would be a disadvantage for India."
He further added that, "Of course, there is Kuldeep Yadav; he can be a match-winner, as he showed against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. He is pretty clever, from what I see, especially when it comes to using the variations. But you need one more person to support him who could contain and attack him because teams will try to target him and unsettle him. Especially when you play against England, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, sometimes you might have to play three spinners without affecting the balance of the team. And India doesn’t have a batsman who can bowl. Jadeja, who bowls, bats at No. 7."