Ravichandran Ashwin has defended the Indian management’s decision to send Axar Patel ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in the 3rd ODI match against Australia, saying that the strategy would have worked if Axar wasn’t run out.
“Surya came down the order, Axar was promoted and KL Rahul batted at No.4, that was the talking point of the game. Please look at Australia’s batting order consistently. When Maxwell returns that’s how they will use him as well. Because they are players who can create impact. Suryakumar Yadav is also one such player. He plays spin really well. Australia won that’s why it didn’t become a talking point but Marnus Labuschagne who bats at No.4 had to bat at No.5 because of David Warner. If they had lost the game, these questions would have been asked. It’s decided based on the situation of the game, it’s a hunch call,” Ashwin began on his YouTube channel.
“Why did they promote Axar? If they promoted Axar and he negated Zampa and Agar by taking them for 35 or 50 runs in 10 overs then the game was in India’s bag. So the intent was right but the run-out happened. The outcome wasn’t right,” he added.
“There is almost a compulsion that India should always win. There is an opinion that India is the strongest team. We are a strong team, no doubt about that but somewhere down the line, we assume ourselves to be invincible. So the feedback coming from the public sometimes can be harsh. Even experts are very harsh with their criticisms these days,” he said.
