Indian former cricketer VVS Laxman backs Ravichandran Ashwin from Sanjay Manjrekar’s comment over the Indian off-spinner.
VVS Laxman backs R Ashwin
Earlier Indian former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar claims that R Ashwin is not eligible to named as “All-time Great”. Though fans slam his tweet now VVS Laxman throws his view over the tweet.
Ahead of the WTC final between India and New Zealand, at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, former India Test specialist VVS Laxman joined the bandwagon and gave his two cents on the matter.
“…R Ashwin is a top-class off-spinner. There is no doubt he is one of the greats of the game,” Laxman was quoted as saying by India Today.
“The way in which he has consistently won matches for India, not only but home, in the recent tour of Australia, is an example of his ability overseas. The way he restricted the run flow of the Australian batsmen (during 2020-21 Test series), the way he set Steve Smith out and got him out quite consistently shows he is high on confidence.”
‘All- time great’ is the highest praise & acknowledgement given to a cricketer. Cricketers like Don Bradman, Sobers, Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Virat etc are all time greats in my book. With due respect, Ashwin not quite there as an all-time great yet. 🙏#AllTimeGreatExplained😉
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) June 6, 2021
With India set to take on New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship final from June 18 onwards, Laxman has advised Virat Kohli to play both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the marquee clash.
“I will definitely play both the spinners because what Ravindra Jadeja has shown in the recent past is he is not just a batsman who can play cameos but he can play big knocks, especially under pressure. I still remember the partnership he had with Ajinkya Rahane when the chips were down in Melbourne. Unfortunately, he got injured after that,” Laxman said.
“I think Ravindra Jadeja will perform well as a batsman at No. 7 and being a left-hander, it will give the edge in the Indian batting line-up,” he added.
Jadeja has 220 wickets from 51 Tests at 24.32 including nine five-wicket hauls and Laxman reckons the 32-year-old has made quite a progress as a bowler.
“As far as the bowling is concerned, it’s not just about the footmarks, Jadeja has become a versatile bowler, he has improved as a bowler, he can beat the batsman on the first day of the Test, he has improved in that aspect,” he said.
In the inaugural WTC cycle, Ashwin has been Virat Kohli’s go-to-bowler. He has 64 wickets and will like to add more to sign off from the inaugural WTC on a high. In the last two-Test series, Ashwin remained at his usual best — along with handy contributions with the bat — to return with a total of 43 scalps combined.
Thus, the wily off-spinner looks certain to feature in India’s playing XI for the WTC summit clash.
