File photo of R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir© BCCI/Sportzpics
A legend of the game in Test cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t quite earn a similar reputation in white-ball cricket despite playing over 100 ODIs and 65 T20Is for India. As Ashwin calls time on his international career, an old comment from Gautam Gambhir on the spinner’s ODI stint with the team has resurfaced. While Ashwin’s statistics speak for themselves in the red-ball format, Gambhir feels he should’ve gotten the opportunity to play more in the 50-over format for India.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Gambhir lauded how Ashwin continued to evolve himself to match the pace and tempo of the game, always staying a step ahead of the challenges he faced on the pitch. But, his ODI career, Gambhir remains a little unfulfilled.
“Very good (his evolution as a bowler). In fact, if there is one area of disappointment, it is that I feel he should have played a lot more of one-day cricket. The kind of bowler that he is – someone who can take 500 Test wickets. … I don’t know how many ODIs he has played, but if he had featured in more one-day games, the country could have seen his potential, not only as a bower but an all-rounder as well.”
Gambhir chose not to blame the captains, coaches or selectors for Ashwin’s snub in ODI cricket, saying everyone has a different thought process, which makes it difficult for every deserving player to get enough chances.
“But again, many times there are things like team combination (that come into the picture). Sometimes captains have a different thought process. Some prefer wrist-spinners who can take wickets in the middle,” Gambhir said.
“I think Ashwin had that quality to play more white-ball cricket for India,” he concluded.
As Ashwin bows out with the title of an all-time great in Test cricket, his career in white-ball cricket does end on an unfulfilling note.
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