Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria praises Ashwin and says he should be one of the candidates for India’s Test captaincy.
Danish Kaneria Praises Ashwin
Right after Virat Kohli’s decision of stepping down as Test captain, Rohit Sharma has been named as the captain of the Indian cricket team.
Though Rohit Sharma remains the designated skipper for India across all three formats, the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and even Jasprit Bumrah have taken up the roles for short stints in different formats.
In the absence of Rohit, Hardik Pandya will lead the Indian T20I side while Dhawan/KL Rahul will lead the Indian ODI side.
In this situation, Kaneria feels Ashwin should be one of the Test captaincy candidates in the team, especially with regard to the career he has had so far.
“Ravichandran Ashwin should be one of the candidates for India’s Test captaincy. He still has a lot of cricket left in him. He is very smart and intelligent with his batting and bowling. It seems as if he is constantly thinking when he is on the ground,” Kaneria said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Speaking of the 2nd Test against Bangladesh, Ashwin emerged as the hero with the bat on Day 4, scoring an unbeaten 42 to help India win the match by 3 wickets.
“India were under a lot of pressure. Ravichandran Ashwin was cool and calm in that situation, playing a great knock to steady the ship for his team. He has saved India on several occasions with his batting contributions.
The Indian team looked weak when they played without Anil Kumble in the past, and the same goes for Ashwin. His 42-run knock was equal to scoring a century,” Kaneria further said.
.@ashwinravi99 came out with intent and took the game away from the claws of #BanglaTigers 😍🔥
📹 | Enjoy the match-defining knock from Ravichandran Ashwin here 🙌#BANvIND #SonySportsNetwork pic.twitter.com/wLwX9d43vn
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) December 25, 2022
With 145 runs target for India’s victory in the 2nd Test, India’s top-order batters including Virat Kohli too dismissed without making an impact on the scoreboard. After Axar Patel’s 34 runs India lost Pant. The pressure builds over Iyer and Ashwin who were India’s last hope for victory.
Both made a 71 runs stand and dragged India to win the second Test of the series. Ashwin was named the Player of the Match for his all-rounder contribution in the 2nd Test.
Making his Test debut in 2011, Ashwin so played 88 Tests and scored 3043 runs which include 5 centuries. He also bagged 449 wickets in Test cricket.
