Ashwin has raised eyebrows over Nitish Kumar Reddy being left out of India’s playing eleven in the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi. With Hardik Pandya unavailable due to injury, many expected young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to fill the gap against South Africa.
Ravichandran Ashwin stunned by India’s playing XI for Ranchi ODI against South Africa
Surprisingly, the Men in Blue led by KL Rahul went with three paces and three spin options for the first ODI against the Proteas side in Ranchi. Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna led the pace attack while Harshit Rana finished at No. 8 for the ODI series opener on Sunday.
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Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja led the spin attack with wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and off-spinner Washington Sundar also in charge. The six-bowler strategy left no room for Reddy in the playing XI, leaving Ashwin baffled by the team management.
The former Indian all-rounder has questioned India’s squad after Nitish Kumar Reddy was left out of the first ODI against South Africa despite Hardik Pandya being unavailable.
Something is wrong with the squad selection: Ravichandran Ashwin questions Nitish Kumar Reddy’s place
Ashwin pointed out that Nitish was picked for his ability to provide the balance that Hardik usually brings and his omission from the playing XI raises questions about the team’s selection choices.
Ravichandran Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel, “If we can’t find a place for Nitish Kumar Reddy in a team that doesn’t have Hardik Pandya, then there is something seriously wrong in the squad selection. Why was he picked? Due to the fact that he can give what Hardik can give and get better with time. But if we can’t find a place for Nitish Kumar Reddy in this particular XI, then the squad squad must have been properly assessed.”
Notably, Reddy had made his ODI debut earlier in the Australia tour but missed the second match due to injury and was ultimately ruled out of the T20I series as well.
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Even after being released from the Test squad to play white-ball matches against South Africa ‘A’, the young all-rounder was ignored for the first ODI. However, he was part of India’s XI during their humiliation in the Guwahati Test.
Ravichandran Ashwin backs Ruturaj Gaikwad at number 4 despite Ranchi move backfiring
Meanwhile, India had made another baffling decision to bat Ruturaj Gaikwad at fourth despite Rishabh Pant and Tilak Varma being available options in the middle order. Gaikwad was mainly considered as a backup opener with Shubman Gill out.
But Gaikwad was sent to fourth place after more than a year in his comeback match and could score only eight runs off fourteen balls before being caught by Dewald Brevis. Despite this, Ashwin said Gaikwad should be given more opportunities in the middle order.
Ashwin signed off by saying, “You have given Ruturaj a chance, so there is no point in going to Tilak Varma now. So give him a longer run and then decide what your right combination is.”
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