5 important problems that the Indian team must address right now

#3 The indifferent form of Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin’s form on flat decks has been abysmal of late

One of the reasons for India’s tremendous consistency in Test cricket during the just completed home season was the consistency of Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin. They are match-winners on whom India have come to depend across all formats of the game.

But while Kohli is continuing to do the good work, the same can hardly be said about Ashwin when it comes to limited overs cricket. Ashwin, who had not played much of ODI cricket for a year leading up to the Champions Trophy, was dropped in the initial stages of the tournament.

Even when he was brought back into the side to lend some variety to the bowling attack, Ashwin flattered to deceive.

The off-spinner is not his usual aggressive self when it comes to white ball cricket these days and banks on bowling a defensive line to contain batsmen. He is no longer the go-to wicket-taker during the middle overs and has been also leaking a lot of runs.

Ashwin’s form on flat decks has been abysmal of late as he conceded 70 runs against Pakistan in the final – the only spinner to do so in the Champions Trophy this year.

Against Bangladesh, he leaked runs at an alarming rate as well and his ineffectiveness in the middle overs made the game almost slip away from India until they were resurrected by two wickets from Kedar Jadhav. With the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal waiting in the wings, Ashwin will have to start performing now if he wants to a permanent member of the limited overs side.