T20 World Cup 2021: “I see it as a great move” - Pragyan Ojha explains why Ashwin’s selection is a good one

Former left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha reckons that Ravichandran Ashwin’s selection in the 2021 T20 World Cup squad is a great move. According to Ojha, Ashwin will offer Virat Kohli a wicket-taking option in the powerplays.

The 34-year-old Ashwin was a surprise pick in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup, having not played any white-ball cricket for the team since 2017. Speaking on Sportskeeda Live, Ojha pointed out that Ashwin has been playing the IPL, so it would be wrong to say that he hasn’t played white-ball cricket at all.

“It is not like he is not playing white-ball cricket; he was playing IPL. That is next to international cricket in terms of pressure. The situations that you face in the IPL, it is quite similar to what you get in international cricket,” Ojha said.

Ojha further explained that since Washington Sundar missed out due to injury, bringing in Ashwin was a logical move.

“I think one man’s loss is one man’s gain. Washington Sundar missed out because of his injury, so Ashwin comes in. I see it as a great move because the dimensions that he offers will be very crucial for Virat Kohli. He not only keeps things tight in the powerplay, he also gets you those wicket-taking options. A bowler of Ashwin’s stature getting you those early wickets will make a lot of difference, if he goes on to play in the XI,” the former spinner added.

Ojha, who has played a few Tests with Ashwin, admitted that he is very excited to see Ashwin bowl in the T20 World Cup 2021, provided the off-spinner gets a chance to do so.

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Unfortunate for Chahal and Chahar to miss out; combination demanded Ashwin’s inclusion: Ojha

While Ashwin has made a comeback in the team, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and pacer Deepak Chahar have missed out. (Chahar is among the standby players, though).

Admitting that it is a tad unfortunate for Chahal and Chahar, Ojha opined that the team combination demanded some strong decisions.

“It is a little unfortunate for (Yuzvendra) Chahal and Deepak Chahar to miss out. But at times, it is the combination that you are thinking about. As a player, you don’t see things from both sides because you want to play all the games that you can. But when you are sitting out and making the selection, it is the combination that matters. They already have someone like Rahul Chahar. They were very clear on picking Rahul Chahar. So, having two leg spinners and then compromising on something else could have come into debate,” Ojha said.

“They (Chahal and Chahar) are good bowlers. They have been doing well in whatever opportunities they have been getting. But I think this team looks good,” the former India cricketer concluded.

Click here to find out who is the leading run scorer in T20 World Cup 2021.

💬 💬 Mr. @msdhoni will join #TeamIndia for the upcoming #T20WorldCup as a mentor.The announcement from Mr. @JayShah, Honorary Secretary, BCCI, which made the entire nation happy.👍 pic.twitter.com/2IaCynLT8J

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2021

Apart from Ashwin and Rahul Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy are the other spin-bowling options in Team India’s 15-man T20 World Cup squad.