Ravichandran Ashwin has criticised India’s team selection for the first ODI
in Perth and stressed to include specialist bowlers in the playing XI

“I can understand why they’re playing two spinners in the game along with Nitish Reddy, they want the batting depth because both Washington and Axar can bat. But man, at least give some attention to the bowling too. On these big grounds, if Kuldeep can’t bowl with a lot of freedom, where will he bowl then? And there’s going to be over-spin which will help him get bounce as well,” Ashwin said on YouTube channel.

“They will talk about this batting depth. But if you want to build your game around batting depth, then the batters have to take responsibility, right? It’s the job of the
batters to score the runs. If you’re playing an extra batter, it’s again about shielding the batters. Play your best bowlers, I’ll always say this, play your best bowlers. Don’t pick a team just to extend your batting,” he added.

Ashwin even questioned the call to include three all-rounders in the playing XI.

“How many all-rounders do you need? You already have three all-rounders. There was a time when there were no all-rounders. You’ve got Washington, you’ve got Axar, and you’ve got Nitish. With all this, if you still can’t play your best spinner, I don’t get it at all,” he said.

Ashwin also stressed on the need for more game time for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“For their good, I think they can focus a bit more on preparation, especially in terms of playing games before going on tours. But that is not entirely in the hands of the players... it needs to be planned by the team management. It’s too early to talk about Virat and Rohit because there are a few more games. My only worry for them is: can they get more game time?” Ashwin said.