England vs India: Sourav Ganguly reckons Ravi Ashwin's 300-wickets feat isn't a 'matter of joke'

Ravichandran Ashwin forayed into international cricket in the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent and hasn’t looked back ever since. Albeit, he hasn’t been in the reckoning for selections in the limited-overs teams for the last one year, he has turned out to be a fulcrum of the Test team. In 58 Tests, the experienced campaigner has racked up 316 wickets with as many as 26 five-wicket-hauls.

Having piled four Test centuries, he has also carved a reputation for being a useful batsman. In order to refurbish his skills, he also has plied his trade in English county cricket for Worcestershire. His upcoming assignment is India’s five-match Test series against England. Meanwhile, he is facing cut-throat competition from the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, who was outstanding in the recently concluded T20I and ODI series.

Ashwin has a place in the side

On the back of the stupendous performances, the chinaman bowler was drafted into the Test squad. In the meantime Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian cricketer reckons that Ashwin is an integral part of the lineup and his achievements can’t be dismissed out of sight. Moreover, he believes that the Tamil Nadu-born tweaker deserves more chances at the highest level.

“You can’t let him (Ashwin) fade away. 300 wickets is not a matter of joke. It’s a common trend that what’s not playing is probably better but it’s not the case sometimes. You saw the leg spin in IPL and he will get better. People must realise that 300 wickets don’t come like that, so he deserves a lot more opportunities,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz.

“Ashwin has a place in the side, he will reinvent himself because he has been challenged, he has felt competition in the squad. He knows Kuldeep is up for his Test place, which will happen very shortly if India win the T20Is and ODIs, so he will reinvent,” Ganguly had mentioned prior to the start of India’s tour of the United Kingdom (UK).

The first Test will be played on August 1 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Lord’s, Trent Bridge, The Rose Bowl and Kennington Oval are the remaining venues respectively. Ashwin is currently representing the Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.

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