'He was hiding his face'- Kapil Dev questions Ravichandran Ashwin's self-confidence and abilities in T20 World Cup 2022

Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev has said that he is highly dissatisfied with veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s abilities in T20Is. Giving further clarification on the same, the 1983 World Cup-winning skipper mentioned that Ashwin is lacking confidence and belief while bowling in the ongoing T20 World Cup and that most of the wickets that he took were only due to batter’s fault instead of dismissing them on his merit.

Ashwin was not an integral part of the Indian T20I setup until the ongoing tournament, but the team management has shown enough faith in him throughout the Super 12 stage at the risk of benching wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who has enjoyed enough success in the shortest format throughout this year. 

Ashwin hasn’t given me the confidence: Kapil Dev

"Until now, Ashwin hasn't given me the confidence. He picked up wickets today but it didn't look as if he got them. In fact, batsmen iss tarah out huye ki unhe khud bhi 1-2 wickets lete huye sharam aa rahi thi.  He was hiding his face. Picking up wickets obviously gives you that confidence but the Ashwin we know, we haven't seen him show the same rhythm," Kapil said on ABP News.

When asked about whether the Tamil Nadu cricketer will be included in the playing XI for India’s semi-final clash against England at the Adelaide Oval, the cricketer-turned-cricket pundit played it safely saying that it all depends on the choices of the team management on that particular day.

"It depends on the team management. If they have the confidence on Ashwin, it's good. He has played the entire tournament so he can adjust if need be. But if you want to surprise the opposition, they can always turn to the wrist-spinner (Chahal). Whoever wins the confidence of the management and captain, will play," he added.

The veteran offie has succeeded in registering six scalps to his name so far in five matches and had also hit the winning run against arch-rivals Pakistan in their nail-biting encounter at the MCG. 

Ravichandran Ashwin registered a three-wicket haul in the Men in Blue’s final Super 12 fixture against Zimbabwe. He finished with impressive figures of 3/22 from his four overs at an economy of 5.5.