Following a heartbreaking snub for the World Test Championship final last month in London, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin exposed a sad reality of the Indian team. Despite being India’s highest wicket-taker in the last two WTC cycles and being the No.1 ranked bowler in ICC rankings then, Ashwin was dropped from the playing XI for the title clash against Australia. When asked if he found some support from friends in the Indian team, he made a distressing remark. Almost a month later, another Indian cricketer, Prithvi Shaw, who has long been in search for a way back into the squad across formats, seconded Ashwin’s revelation.
The Indian team management felt it was better off for the side to go with an extra pacer in Umesh Yadav than pick Ashwin. The decision eventually backfired as India lost by 209 runs in the final. After the final, Ashwin was asked in an interview with Indian Express whether he spoke about the snub with any of his teammates, and he revealed that with rising competition in the side for every single slot, friendly conversations rarely happen in the dressing room.
“This is an era where everybody is a colleague. Once upon a time when cricket was played, all your teammates were friends. Now, they’re colleagues. There’s a big difference because here people are there to advance themselves and to stride ahead of another person sitting to your right or left. So nobody’s got the time to say, ‘okay, boss what are you up to’?” he had said.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, Shaw was asked on similar lines with the young cricketer having gone through his fair share of ups and downs. The most recent of those happened last week when he was ignored for the Asian Games squad, which is a second-string side sent by the BCCI comprising players not in consideration for the World Cup.
When asked whom does he open up to in the Indian team, he replied: “Everyone talks to each other. But opening up… hardly. At least, I’ve never opened up to anyone. Yes, all the mazaak-masti (fun and games) happens. But personal space used to be personal.”
Shaw is yet to add to his 12 appearances for Team India – five in Tests, six in ODIs and one in T20I.
