Ashwin was involved in one other controversy. Virat Kohli has resigned T20 captaincy. Indian selectors will shortly be involved in choosing a captain for that format alone. Ravi Shastri’s tenure is likely to come to an end. IPL is throwing up some serious talent. This post is about news from around the Indian cricket world. I am not going to get into deep analysis but I will stick to supplying the information with a little bit of comment from my side.
Let me begin with Ashwin
Ashwin is amongst the news whether he is playing or more so when he is not playing. Throughout the England series, Ashwin’s stature grew to historical proportions. Anyone and everyone had an opinion on whether Ashwin should have played in all of the tests or some of the tests. English and Indian commentators were equally shocked to see Ashwin’s name missed out in the first test and from thereon, the chorus to bring back Ashwin only got louder.
He is cultivating huge fan following through his YouTube videos. The “Kutti Story” segment itself has garnered more than a million views but he isn’t that careful when releasing the video.
A couple of years ago, Ashwin was involved in “Mankading” during one of the IPL games and justified his action. I still believe that Ashwin was correct on this instance. Mankading a non-striker must be made the norm rather than an exception. It must not be treated like a taboo.
What was the fresh incident?
Now, Ashwin was involved in going for a run after the ball had hit the batsman. Ashwin has claimed that he didn’t know that the ball had hit Pant but insisted that even if he knew, he would still run because the rules allowed it. This incident has invited sharp criticism from many around the world with the most powerful coming from Shane Warne.
The world shouldn’t be divided on this topic and Ashwin,” he tweeted.
“It’s pretty simple – it’s disgraceful and should never happen.
Morgan and Southee have called Ashwin a “disgrace to the game”. Now, what do I think about this? It has been a tradition not to run once the ball hits one of the batsman. This tradition has been respected by every player around the world even at the local league games. At the highest level, this is not just tradition but a doctrine itself. Whereas Ashwin was correct in the earlier instance of “Mankading” Buttler, he was certainly wrong on this one. Yes, rules do allow you to run in such cases but when something has been followed religiously for so many years, he must have followed the same. To make a mistake is human. He must have had the good grace of accepting his mistake and try not to repeat it. Instead, Ashwin went on a tirade.
“In Morgan or Southee’s world of cricket they can choose and stick to what they believe is right or wrong but do not have the right to take a moral high ground and use words that are derogatory,” Ashwin said.
Sorry Ashwin, you were wrong. It is time you start accepting that you are not always correct.
Virat Kohli and captaincy
It has finally happened. Kohli has decided that he has had enough and has resigned captaincy from one format only. After the World T20, he will not be the captain for the Indian T20 side as well as for his franchise Royal Challengers. This is, especially the RCB one, is longtime coming. It is really a surprise that he was allowed to be the captain for 8 years despite not winning the tournament even once. Nonetheless, the franchise will have to start the search for a new captain. That is not my concern however because I am more focussed on Indian cricket. I for one firmly believe that not only T20, Kohli must have given up limited overs captaincy itself. ODI & T20. He has had a long stint but does not have a silverware to show for his efforts.
It would have been even better if he had left before the T20 WC. Nevertheless, better late than never.
The replacement is quite obvious. It will have to be Rohit Sharma. He has proved his credentials by winning 2 tournaments where he was the captain. Asia Cup & Nidahas Trophy. The selectors must not be tempted to give the captaincy to youngsters like Pant or Rahul. Their time will come but it is not now.
Ravi Shastri’s tenure will end
At the end of the T20 WC, Ravi Shastri has decided not to seek his contract to be extended. One only wishes that India wins the T20 World Cup and thereby Shastri goes out on a high. He has had some memorable wins during his tenure. I will write a separate piece once he leaves. For now, Dravid and Dhoni seems to be the front runners. I for one do not want Dhoni anywhere near the Indian team. Him being is mentor is downright wrong. He destroyed the Indian team during his tenure. Yes, I am aware that a majority will not agree. Dravid is doing a fabulous job with the youngsters and he must continue with that. Perhaps it is time to venture out to the foreign locations once again.
IPL throwing up some players
Venkatesh Iyer, Arshdeep Singh have now become household name after their exploits in the 2021 IPL. Iyer has really been a revelation. His innings at the top of the order together with his useful bowling is a much sought after combination by the Indian team. Manjrekar reckons that Iyer will fetch more than 10 crores in next year’s auction.
“I’m thinking 12-14 crores, because this is not a kind of a fluke show. I was looking at his First-Class numbers and his List A record is outstanding.”
Arshdeep, the Punjab seamer is impressive if not outstanding. He is young and he seems to possess ability. Ofcourse, he will have to add some muscle to his body and much needed pace. Left arm fast bowler will be a great asset to the Indian team but he has a long way to go. Sehwag thinks highly of him.
“Arshdeep is a very fine bowler and if he continues to work hard and perform like this, he would surely make it to Team India someday,” he added.
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