Ashwin opined his skillset would have come in handy in Dubai, where India play all its matches.
The Indian team has their sight set on the Champions Trophy 2025 next, as they hope to end an 11-year wait and lift the coveted trophy after winning it last in 2013 under MS Dhoni’s leadership. The team for the marquee ICC event was also recently announced which saw a few interesting calls taken.
The absence of young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was, however, highlighted by Ravichandran Ashwin and the veteran spinner feels that India missed a trick by not selecting the 21-year-old.
Nitish was one of India’s top performers in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, where he contributed equally with the bat and ball.
The dynamic right-hander finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer with 298 runs at an average of 37.25 while also picking up five wickets.
In his limited appearance for India in white-ball cricket as well, Nitish has impressed, maintaining an average close to 50 and a fiery strike rate of 180.
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Given Nitish’s versatility, Ashwin opined that playing the youngster would have allowed India to go with as many as four fast bowlers in the lineup. This could have come in handy since Dubai, where India play all its matches, sees a significant impact of dew.
According to Ashwin, the Indian selectors should have considered NKR instead of going with three finger spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar.
Speaking in a video on his Youtube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’ with senior journalist Vimal Kumar, Ashwin said,
“Does it make sense to have a player like Nitish Reddy in the scheme of things? If Kuldeep plays at 9, it’s two pacers and three spinners. With Nitish, he could bat at 8, allowing Kuldeep at 9 and two fast bowlers. This would provide the luxury of four fast bowlers and two spinners. I don’t know if he was considered.”
Ashwin’s Playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja/Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.
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