Ravichandran Ashwin is a boon for cricket fans and media who rarely get to hear much beyond rehearsed banalities from Indian cricket stars. The cerebral off-spinner frequently speaks with passion and spontaneity on his Youtube channel on cricketing matters.
In a new ‘drop’, Ashwin made a case for Tilak Varma’s selection in the World Cup squad. The left-handed Varma, who has been in good nick in the T2OIs in the West Indies, could be the solution to India’s middle-order worries, Ashwin said.
"Will they [selectors] think about Tilak Varma as an option if we don't have enough backups? Because Sanju Samson has performed really well in ODIs. But the exciting part about Tilak Varma is that he is a left-hander and Team India is lacking left-handers. Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) is the only left-handed batter in the top 7," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
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Former selection chairman MSK Prasad was on the same page with Ashwin on Varma, but only if Shreyas Iyer does not recover fully from his back injury.
India’s current options are injured or not in the most convincing form. KL Rahul has had thigh surgery while Iyer had his lower back operated upon. Suryakumar Yadav and Samson have not looked the best bets for the tournament at the No. 4 slot.
Insightful as ever, Ashwin gave a technical reason behind him favouring Tilak Varma. The opposition teams don’t have that many dangerous finger spinners who could trouble a lefthander.
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"Australia have Ashton Agar. England have Moeen Ali and a leggie in Adil Rashid. So, most teams don't have a finger spinner to challenge the left-handed batters. That is why the emergence of Tilak is crucial," Ashwin said.
"It is still early but will they see him as an option? He has at least made everyone notice him. He is surely in the contingency plan. Because any selector who would have seen that knock (Varma has scored 39, 50 and 49 not out in the three T20Is so far) would have gone, 'Woah!'"
Prasad, on his part, told PTI, “Look at his List A record for Hyderabad. He has played 25 List A games and has an average of 55 plus (56.18). Five hundreds and five half-centuries. It means at least 50 per cent times he is converting fifties into hundreds. A strike rate of 100 plus.”
The former India wicketkeeper added, "I think it won't be a bad idea [to take Varma] provided Shreyas (Iyer) can't make it. Only then you can think of Varma. But I am sure he will be a white ball regular for India across formats going forward.”
