Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin said seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube should not be India’s first choice all-rounder in ODIs. Ashwin said Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy are ahead of Dube in the pecking order.
Meanwhile, Dube returned with decent figures of 1-27 in six overs he bowled in the first ODI against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, which the visitors won by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The medium pacer accounted for Will Jacks, with KL Rahul taking a brilliant catch while diving to his right. Dube could have also had the big wicket of Joe Root, who gave him a chance when he was on only seven but the medium pacer could not hang on to a caught-and-bowl opportunity. Root then went on to score an unbeaten knock of 76 runs and the drop proved costly.
“If I am being very honest, if Shivam Dube is a contender, then we are in a spot of bother. The first choice will always be Hardik, second Nitish Kumar Reddy. They also used Suryansh Shedge a bit for an option. I liked what they did with Dube. Go to him if Hardik and Nitish are injured. I loved him getting six overs and the way they utilised him. But he will be the last fancied choice for that all-rounder slot in ODIs,” Ashwin said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.
The former off-spinner added he would back Axar Patel ahead of Washington Sundar as the former can bowl 10 overs and bat at number seven. Ashwin reckons if Sundar has to play, he needs to bat in top five.
“Sundar has batted well and he always does. He has that class. All said. But if he wants to play in the ODI side, he will have to bat within the top five. He is not a great power hitter who can bat at seven. If someone has to bat at seven, he also needs to bowl ten overs. That is why Axar is a fancied number seven. You have to play Sundar at five. So you play KL Rahul at six. Tomorrow, if Hardik is back, he slots in at six, then KL goes to five and Sundar will not have a place. Even in that case, if you want a replacement for Axar, it has to be a left-arm spinner who can bat at seven. So I hope Sundar is given chances where he will actually be used. Play him at seven and see how he bats there. That is where role clarity and definition are slightly missing.”
On the other hand, Ashwin praised rookie pacer Gurnoor Brar after the latter bagged two wickets of Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett in the series opener.
“Gurnoor has been very impressive. He is a tall bowler, too. This is his first tour, and he will be expensive, but he has it in him. He will be a real champion bowler for India, not only in this format, but he can do well in red-ball cricket as well. I hope we can look after him very well without injuries, as he can serve Indian cricket for a while,” he said.
The second ODI between India and England will be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on Thursday.
