'It is too difficult to judge right now' - Jasprit Bumrah on Ravichandran Ashwin's exclusion from the Indian playing XI for NZ clash

Ravichandran Ashwin was not included in the Indian playing XI for the T20 World Cup encounter against New Zealand. And now, Jasprit Bumrah has opened up on Ashwin’s exclusion from the side.

Bumrah admitted that Ashwin is an experienced bowler and said that the veteran right-arm off-spinner adds a lot of value to the Indian bowling attack. Bumrah also added that the ball does not grip a lot in the second innings because of the dew in the UAE.

Bumrah opined that in hindsight it might be argued that Ashwin could have made a difference but it is tough to judge at present.

“See, in hindsight, we could say a lot of things. In hindsight, we would have loved a lot more runs and a lot more wickets. He is an experienced bowler. Obviously, he adds value to the bowling attack whenever he comes.

But in hindsight, it’s very difficult. As I said, there’s dew in the second innings so the ball doesn’t grip and the options become very little and rare for the bowlers. You know, the margin of the error goes down. So in hindsight, you might say that ‘OK he might have made a difference’ but it’s too difficult to judge right now,” said Bumrah after the match between India and New Zealand.

Nick Compton takes a dig at Virat Kohli after the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin

England cricketer Nick Compton took a dig at Indian skipper Virat Kohli after Ravichandran Ashwin was not included in the Indian playing XI. Compton tweeted that Kohli had a prickly relationship with Ashwin and that is the reason why the Indian spinner has been left out of the playing XI. Compton also questioned whether a captain can be bestowed with such an autonomy in a cricket team.

“I just don’t understand how Kohli’s prickly relationship with Ashwin is allowed to keep him out of Indian teams? Do you think Captains should be allowed such autonomy?” tweeted Nick Compton.

You can see the tweet from Nick Compton below

New Zealand thrashed India with 8 wickets and 33 balls to spare in the match between the two sides on 31st October 2021.