'He always looks to me like he's 20 years older than he is really is' - Mark Butcher slams Ravi Ashwin for dropping Ben Stokes

Former England cricketer Mark Butcher has come down hard on Team India for their poor fielding effort in the ongoing first Test against England in Chennai. The former cricketer-turned-commentator singled out Ravi Ashwin for criticism as he lashed out at the spinner for not being able to hold on to a catch from Ben Stokes.

For the second day in a row in the Test, Team India were made to toil hard as England’s batsmen piled on the runs. The visitors finished day two on a mammoth total of 555 for 8. Things could have been worse for the hosts had they not managed to pick up four wickets in the final session of the day. While the pitch did not offer much help to the bowlers, they were also let down by the poor fielding by their teammates.

Ben Stokes was dropped twice in two consecutive overs while he was batting on 31 and 32. The all-rounder went on to score 82 and shared a 124-run stand with skipper Joe Root to give England a solid start on day two. Root, on the other hand, scored 218 to lead the charge for the tourists, helping them put themselves in the driver’s seat.

Mark Butcher slams Ravi Ashwin

Mark Butcher was not at all impressed with Ravichandran Ashwin’s fielding effort and did not shy away from lashing out at him while speaking on Star Sports Network during the lunch interval on the second day. Butcher was talking about Ashwin’s failure to catch Stokes off his own bowling when the allrounder was batting on 31.

Taking a dig at Ashwin, Butcher said the off-spinner is not the “best mover” in the Indian team and looked like he is 20 years older than he really is. Butcher advised Team India to held on to the chances when someone like Stokes gives it to them.

“Catch those. That’s the issue. He managed to beat Stokes a couple of times off the flat part of the wicket. Didn’t need the rough for that but you’re going to need a little more assistance to put a batsman like Ben Stokes under pressure. When he does give you a chance, you’re going to have to take it,” said Mark Butcher.

“Ashwin’s not the best mover in the Indian side. He always looks to me like he’s 20 years older than he really is sometimes out there on the field. And he’s bowled a lot of overs, he’s looking a little bit tired and that’s the chance you desperately want to hang on to. The thing that ended up being the case for India is that they were going to hope that Ben Stokes did something wrong and gave him a chance. Stokes was aiming it to the left of the screen and it ended up going upright,” he added.