Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh feels India are planning for the future with their selection of Washington Sundar over premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Notably, India rested their senior spinners Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and picked Sundar over him in the first Test of the ongoing series against Australia.
Sundar scored 33 runs across two innings and picked two wickets in 17 overs. He recently made his comeback to Test cricket after over three years and picked an 11-wicket haul against New Zealand on his comeback albeit in a losing cause. With Sundar outperforming both Jadeja and Ashwin with the ball, he was preferred over the senior duo in Perth.
Recently, Harbhajan also shared his views on the matter and said that it seems to be a part of India’s long term.
“I think that’s what their (team management and selectors’) long term plan is. Ravichandran Ashwin has done a phenomenal job playing for India in taking all those wickets in his career,” Harbhajan told PTI in an exclusive interview
He further said that Ashwin is aging and hence the team management is preparing him for the future once Ashwin hangs up his boots.
“But now that he is at that stage, at the age of 38, so that’s why they have kept Washington Sundar with them (for) whenever R Ashwin will retire. The team thinks that they have to prepare Washington, so I think they are working on the same path,” he added.
Ashwin’s brilliant record at Adelaide
The second Test of the series will be played in Adelaide where Ashwin bowled phenomenally well on the last tour. The off spinner was India’s best bowler at the venue during the 2020-21 series as he scalped five wickets across two innings including a 4/55 in the first innings. He managed to get big scalps of Steve Smith and Travis Head helping India take a 53-run lead.
Hence, the team management will face a huge conundrum in the second Test whether to tinker with the winning combination or giving Ashwin a chance at the venue where he loves to bowl. The 38-year-old averages 30.43 at Adelaide with 16 wickets from three matches. Hence, it remains to be seen whether Ashwin will get a chance on the basis of his past laurels or will Sundar continue to be ahead of him the pecking order.
