Bishan Singh Bedi praises R Ashwin, calls him a class above the rest
Bishan Singh Bedi has lauded Ravichandran Ashwin by calling him a class above the rest. As per the BCCI's new rotation policy, Ashwin and partner Ravindra Jadeja were not selected for the first three ODIs of the upcoming Australia series, but Bedi felt it was not a big concern for the Indian offie.
BCCI announced the squad for the first three One day matches against Australia, yesterday, where Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja’s name was missing. Both bowlers had also been rested for the recently concluded limited over series against Sri Lanka.
Following the announcement, Ashwin decided to give country cricket a go and signed with Worcestershire to get acclimatized with the conditions in England as the country will host the World Cup in 2019. While some have questioned the impact the continuous snubs will have on Ashwin's morale, Bedi has said that he is not too concerned with BCCI's decision.
“He’s (Ashwin) a class above (the rest),” Bedi said as reported by Sportstar Live.
“If I was Ashwin, I'd not lose my sleep over (not playing ODIs and T20s). He's an intelligent bowler."
Ashwin has played 111 ODIs and 46 T20Is for India in which he has claimed 150 and 52 wickets respectively. India’s leading bowler’s exclusion from the limited overs games against Sri Lanka resulted in young players such as Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav get a run in the team.
“But it's all about wickets, wickets, wickets. That's just one part of Ashwin's game,” the 70-year-old said.
“If you’re bowling 4 overs in a T20 game, then you must bowl 12 overs in practice sessions. If you're bowling 25-30 overs in Tests, then you must be able to bowl three times that in practice.”