Legendary Ravichandran Ashwin questioned Shivam Dube’s selection as an extra bowler in the ongoing Asia Cup against Oman. Ashwin reckons India would be better to play Harshit Rana in place of Dube as the former can be a better bet with the ball.
Dube conceded 31 runs in three overs he bowled against Oman when India registered a 21-run win in the last Group A stage contest of the continental tournament. On the other hand, Harshit Rana, who was playing his first match of the competition, bagged 1-25 in three overs he bowled.
Furthermore, Dube, who batted at number six, could only manage five runs off eight balls against Oman.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “The match would have taught India a great lesson. I am really doubting the impact of having Shivam Dube as the extra bowler. If you definitely need a bowler in that position, you would be better off playing Harshit Rana in the position and making him bat.”
Ashwin reckons there were learning lessons for India, who played without Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy.
“Coming to the match, a champion like Bumrah and a rare mystery spinner like Varun Chakravarthy did not play. So if you remove these two and the pitch is good to bat on, then Oman showed that they possess some quality. At the same, there were a few lessons for India as well,” he said.
On the other hand, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not bat against Oman and even promoted Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav ahead of himself.
Speaking on SKY, Ashwin said, “What I liked the most was usually when playing against a good side, a captain looks to do everything from batting, bowling, fielding and take up all the responsibility. Here, Surya did the exact opposite by sending everyone ahead. It was like he told the others that he will only do the coin toss and it was upto the others to ensure he didn’t bat. For India, it was more like match practice, while Oman can take a lot of confidence out of it.”
India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.
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