Mohammed Shami (right) and Ravichandran Ashwin (left).
Credit: PTI Photos
Former India chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, has expressed belief in captain Rohit Sharma's team selection for the ICC World Cup including the decision to leave out Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami.
Speaking to hindustantimes.com ahead of the India-Bangladesh clash in Pune, he said "What the team management is doing is absolutely right. If the wickets are conducive for spinners, then playing Ashwin is a good choice if it's a flat deck then someone like Shardul offers something with both and the ball becomes an option. As far as Shami is concerned, I think will only play when the team management feels they need to rest either Siraj or Bumrah. They are very well set with this kind of balance," adding that as per him both Ashwin and Shami would agree with the team management's call.
"If you ask Ashwin, he will also agree with the team management's decision. Do we require to win the championship or do we go on reputation? If we go by reputation, then Siraj shouldn't be playing, Shami should. This team has great camaraderie. Everybody has accepted this combination. As a fan, it pains me to see Shami sitting outside but if I'm thinking from the captain's perspective, the decisions he is taking are fantastic ones. They are not going on reputation. They want to win the tournament by fielding the best possible XI on that particular day against that particular opposition," he further said.
Ashwin is a top Indian cricketer who has been dispensable. While Cheteshwar Pujara might come close, no other Indian cricketer has been dropped from the squad as many times as easily in his prime as Ashwin, who is the No 1 ranked Test bowler and is the current top-wicket taker among active spinners the world over. While Ashwin stepped in for an injured Axar Patel for India's campaign opener against Australia, he was not guaranteed a place in the team for every match and did not feature in the next two games with Shardul Thakur getting preference.
Shami, who was India's lead pacer not too far back, has struggled for a spot on the team as well. This, however, springs from the fact that India prefers to go with two frontline fast bowlers and Shami's inability to rake up lower-order runs like Shardul.