The 38-year-old India National Cricket Team off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to feature in the playing XI in the second Test of the five-match series against Australia National Cricket Team.
Speculations are rife about Ravichandran Ashwin’s return to the playing XI for the Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 due to his recent activities in the nets.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma announces R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja’s return to India XI, praises young guns
Ravichandran Ashwin warmed the bench in the Perth Test
Ashwin is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket, and among Indians, he is only behind the legendary Anil Kumble, who took 619 wickets in his illustrious career.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin has played 105 Test matches and has bagged 536 wickets at an average of 23.95, an economy of 2.83, and a strike rate of 50.63.
Ashwin has also been sensational with the bat in the longest format of the game. He has scored 3474 runs at a decent average of 25.92, with 6 centuries and 14 fifties.
Despite all the experience and the numbers, Ashwin was overlooked for the Test series opener in Perth as Indian team management decided to go with another off-spin-bowling all-rounder.
The Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff picked Washington Sundar over Ashwin as the sole spinner in the line-up. They also ignored the veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been the first-choice spinner of the team in the SENA Tests in the last few years.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s lengthy chat with the coach fuels speculations of playing XI return
The second Test between India and Australia is all set to be hosted by the Adelaide Oval from December 6 and it will be a pink-ball day-night match between the teams.
Ahead of the match, Team India played a pink-ball tour game against Australia’s Prime Minister’s XI, which was converted into a one-day clash after the rain washed out the first day. Ashwin didn’t feature in that match, but Sundar did and the youngster did an impressive job both with the bat and ball.
However, ahead of the Adelaide Test, Ashwin has been grinding hard in the nets and keeping himself fully prepared for the match.
On Thursday, December 5, the senior journalist Bharat Sundaresan took to X to inform that Ravichandran Ashwin was engaged in a lengthy chat of nearly 40 minutes with the coach – most likely Gautam Gambhir – discussing the tactics of the team.
Didn’t happen last week in Perth, so giving it another go in Adelaide. Surely @ashwinravi99 to play tomorrow or he’s setting the record for longest time spent chatting tactics with the coach on the eve of a Test. They’ve been at it for nearly 40 minutes already #AusvInd pic.twitter.com/E6uEcP3bsq
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) December 5, 2024
This has led to speculations that Ashwin might be playing the pink-ball Test match against the Australia National Cricket Team and replacing Washington Sundar in the side.
But the bowling, I won’t touch – Ravi Shastri
Speaking on ICC Review, the former India National Cricket Team head coach Ravi Shastri stated that the Indian team management shouldn’t make any changes to the bowling unit for the second Test match.
However, he advised the coaches to keep an eye on the right-arm pacer Akash Deep and think about his selection as he could be a game-changer with the pink ball. Shastri elaborated:
“But the bowling, I won’t touch. I’ll keep it the same because you’d rather have the same line-up.
“Only thing that you must remember, this is a pink-ball Test. I know Harshit Rana did very well in that Test match, but the pink ball with extra lacquer, it’s a little harder, might seam around a bit and swing. [That’s] where I think Akash Deep should be in the mix.
“Now when you reach the ground, you see the conditions, [whether] you opt for extra bounce and pace, that’s your choice. But I’d definitely keep him in that 12 and keep an eye on him.”