"Play your best spinner is what I think" - Wasim Jaffer vouches for R Ashwin's inclusion in Team India playing XI for 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test 

Former India batter Wasim Jaffer feels Ravichandran Ashwin should play as the sole frontline spinner in the playing XI for the upcoming second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The veteran spinner was not considered for the series opener in Perth as the in-form Washington Sundar was preferred instead.

Ashwin has struggled to be the first-choice candidate in overseas conditions but makes a serious case given that the upcoming clash is a pink-ball encounter in Adelaide. The off-spinner boasts a formidable record at the venue, claiming 16 wickets in three matches at an average of 30.44. Furthermore, Ashwin is Team India's leading wicket-taker with the pink ball. While most of those matches have come on home soil, his tally of 18 wickets is commendable.

Jaffer made a case for Ashwin, with Rohit Sharma and Shubuman Gill's return to the batting line-up playing a key role.

"I want India to play Ashwin. Spin always plays a part in D/N Test, Ash has done well there before. Washi hasn't done anything wrong but with Rohit & Gill back to bolster the batting, play your best spinner is what I think. And Ashwin is more than handy with the bat too," Jaffer wrote on X.

The Adelaide pitch curator, Damian Hough, had opined during the lead-up to the match that spin will play a role on the strip for the five days.

"Spin always plays a role in Adelaide. You need to pick a frontline spinner. So, there should never be a question of do we, don’t we? It should always be," Hough said in a select media interaction organised by Cricket Australia (via News 18).

The Adelaide Oval is also veteran spinner Nathan Lyon's home turf. The Aussie off-spinner has picked up 63 wickets in 13 appearances at the venue with an average of 25.27. He famously picked up 12 wickets in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener against India.

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R Ashwin had a relatively lean home season before the Australia tour

The veteran Indian spinner was far from his best during the home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. While Ashwin recorded a century to kickstart the season, he ended wicket-less on a red soil wicket that assisted the seamers. He made a resounding comeback by bagging six wickets in the second innings.

However, in the four Tests that followed, he ended up with only 14 wickets, which included a dreadful outing at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru against the Blackcaps.