Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison is not sure if Ravichandran Ashwin will get picked in India’s playing XI for the upcoming Tests in South Africa, despite his Man of the Series performance in the recent home series against New Zealand which the hosts won on Monday.
Ashwin bagged 14 wickets in the two Tests to finish as the second-most successful bowler in the series behind teammate Axar Patel, who took 17 to top the charts.
But Harmison still feels that the veteran off-spinner might get overlooked during team selection in South Africa and the Indian team management might persist with the out-of-form Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Harmison gave the example of how Ashwin was not selected in the XI during the Tests in England this year despite Ashwin’s record-breaking numbers in red-ball cricket. Ashwin did not play a single Test on the England tour as India opted for the lone spinner in Ravindra Jadeja, along with four fast bowlers.
“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 said 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.”
Harmison suggested India to play their tried-and-tested spin combination of Jadeja and Ashwin in South Africa, apart from three pacers in Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.
“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. The skill level for Ashwin is as good as any seam bowler would bowl on any seam-friendly wicket.
“But this guy is so skillful, so meticulous and can create so much pressure that even your fourth seamer cannot be as threatening as R Ashwin. And then you pick your three fast bowlers, which for me would be Shami, Bumrah and Siraj,” Harmison said.
