Gautam Gambhir pushes for R Ashwin's inclusion in World Cup squad

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir looked quite skeptical about team India’s current strategy of using two wrist spinners. While he agreed to the known fact that the wrist spinners are dictating terms in the white ball cricket these days, the southpaw stressed on the fact that the finger spinners should not be overlooked at the same time. Gambhir backed Ravichandran Ashwin to be included in the Indian side for the upcoming ICC World Cup.

He backed his remarks with a proposition that a finger spinner could be equally effective in the English conditions. As per the recent quotes in India TV News, Gautam Gambhir pushed for Ashwin’s inclusion. It is worth noting that Ashwin last played white ball cricket for India back in July 2017. Adding further on the same note, Gambhir cited the example of Australian spinner Nathan Lyon, who staged a comeback in ODI cricket following his excellent run of form in Test matches.

“Both wrist-spinners (Kuldeep and Chahal) have done well in the last one year. But I still feel that Ashwin is somebody we should look at. I’ve always believed that a quality spinner is a quality spinner – irrespective of whether he is a wrist-spinner or a finger-spinner,” said Gautam Gambhir quoted.

“He (Lyon) is probably the best off-spinner in the world and he’s a finger-spinner. I feel that we should not differentiate because there’s a wrist-spinner and so there’s no space for a finger-spinner. I think R Ashwin is someone who we should always consider because we are looking at conditions in England during that time of the year. Wickets could be flat and worn out. So a finger-spinner can be effective with the ball as well,” the former Indian cricketer added further.

On Dhawan, Rayudu struggling in Australia ODI series

Gambhir also shed his opinion on the Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan aggregated just 55 runs in 3 matches in the ODI series against Australia. A similar out-of-form story was depicted by Ambati Rayudu as well. Commenting on this, Gautam Gambhir exclaimed that the players should have played a bit of First Class cricket considering that it would been a good preparation ground for them ahead of World Cup 2019.

“I am a little disappointed because some of the guys should have played first-class cricket. Being away from Test cricket should have actually pushed them to play first-class cricket.Whoever was selected to play (only) white-ball cricket, because it is a World Cup year, I think it should have pushed all these guys like MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu – all those who went to Australia – to play first-class cricket,” Gambhir pointed out.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.