It wouldn't surprise me if Ravi Ashwin doesn’t play the South Africa Test series: Steve Harmison

Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison reckoned that Ravi Ashwin may not get a chance to play in the Test series against South Africa despite being the Player of the Series against New Zealand. In two Tests versus the Black Caps, Ashwin picked up 14 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 11.35. In fact, he was India’s leading wicket-taker in the two-match Test series.

Moreover, he scored 70 runs with a top score of 38, giving an account of the contributions he can make with the bat in hand. However, Harmison stated that since it’s tough to gauge Virat Kohli’s thinking process, it’s hard to determine Ashwin’s fate in the series.

The veteran also reckoned that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara may also get a chance in the upcoming Test series despite their poor run of form.

Steve Harmison shares his opinions

“The problem I find in predicting this Indian side is there’s logic and then there’s Kohli’s idea of what the team should be. Who on earth would have thought that Ashwin would have missed so much cricket against England? You can never what Virat wants what he is trying or his thinking process is,” Harmison was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

“You would think the 2 young guys in Iyer and Agarwal would be going to South Africa on the back of scoring 100s in this series, it wouldn’t surprise me if Rahane and Pujara plays and wouldn’t surprise me if Ashwin doesn’t play,” he stated.

Harmison also suggested India to go in with Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the series against South Africa. Moreover, he reckoned that Jadeja is more than handy with the bat. “Jadeja is important for this team with Pant at No. 6 and 7. Even though Axar can bat and so can Ashwin. But Jadeja bats nicely at 7 and I still think there is room for one more spinner,” Harmison added.

India’s Test series against South Africa is set to get underway on Sunday, December 26 with the opening game at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. The second and third Test will take place in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively. It will be followed by three ODIs.