India off-spinner R Ashwin ended up as the man-of-the-series in the just-concluded four-Test series against England with a 32-wicket haul. Speculation was rife that Ashwin could make a comeback into the Indian T20 squad for the first time after July 2017 with the T20 World Cup set to take place in India later this year.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli lost his cool when a journalist asked him if it was the end of the road for Ashwin in T20 cricket if he was not picked to play in the five-match T20 series against England which gets underway in Ahmedabad on Friday (March 12).
“Washington has been doing really well for us. You cannot have two players (Washington and Ashwin) of the same discipline playing in one spot so unless Washi has a drastically horrible season and things go south for him,” Kohli said during a virtual conference on the eve of the first T20 on Thursday (March 11).
“I mean the question should be asked with some kind of logic as well. You suggest where you would add Ash when Washington does that job for the team," an irked Kohli asked.
Earlier this week, it was reported that spinner Varun Chakravarthy could also be replaced by Rahul Chahar in the squad as the former failed to clear the mandatory fitness test. The Indian skipper pointed out how players need to have top-notch fitness if they want to play for the country.
“Individuals have to understand and appreciate the kind of system that’s been created for the Indian cricket team. We should operate at a very high level of fitness and skills, there is a reason why this is a top of a ladder when it comes to playing cricket in our country,” said Kohli.
“You would obviously expect players to abide by what’s required to be a part of team India and there can’t be a space to comprise in that regard,” he added.
The Men-in-Blue have some newbies in their squad and all of them have high potential to start firing from game number one. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, and Ishan Kishan have impressed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it has finally seen them being rewarded with a place in the Indian squad for the T20I series.
