Ravichandran Ashwin should have played at Headingley and he must play at the Oval, former England captain Nasser Hussain has said. Ashwin is yet to play in India’s five-Test series against England, with a number of commentators and former players saying the spinner should have played at Headingley ahead of fast bowler Ishant Sharma.
“What India do have is an off-spin bowler ranked No. 2 in the world and a batsman good enough to have made five Test centuries in Ravichandran Ashwin. He should have played at Headingley against England’s five left-handers and he must play at The Oval,” Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
Ashwin is currently the highest Test wicket-taker in the Indian team with 413 scalps in 79 games. He is also the fourth-highest Test wicket taker for India, only four wickets behind third-placed Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan had played 103 matches to get to the mark.
Additionally, Ashwin also has five-Test centuries to his name, the last of which came against England in the first Test of their tour of India in his home ground in Chennai.
Hussain said that Ashwin will most likely come in for Ishant Sharma, who took no wickets and conceded 92 runs in 22 overs in what was a rare off day for the experienced fast bowler at Headingley.
“So the most likely solution is that Ashwin will come in for a seamer, most likely Ishant Sharma who struggled at Headingley, and join Ravindra Jadeja in a more balanced looking side with a deeper batting line-up as long as Jadeja recovers from his knee injury,” said Hussain.
The five-match series is tied 1-1 and the fourth Test will start on September 2.
