Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | BCCI asks TNCA to rest R Ashwin for TN-MP clash

After an impressive limited-overs outing, where they reached the finals in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, Tamil Nadu have failed to replicate the same performances in the four-day season. After outright defeats at the hands of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh in Dindigul, they are off to Indore to play Madhya Pradesh but the problem looms large. 

For the third game of the season, Ravichandran Ashwin will not be available as according to TNCA, he has been asked by the BCCI to take a break from domestic cricket to undergo some tests, reported The Hindu. What made it more damning for Tamil Nadu is Washington Sundar taking pain-killing injections on his finger and is not yet match-fit. 

The team has already lost the likes of Abhinav Mukund, who is not available for personal reasons, and Shahrukh Khan, who has hurt his little finger to be out of the squad. As replacements, the TNCA have called up Kaushik Gandhi, Hari Nishaanth and L. Suryapprakash, all top-order batsmen, but what raised questions that none of them can bowl off-spin, a trait that Ashwin brings to the table.

"We expect Ashwin to play some India A games... in any case, we don't have too many off-spinners to pick from. We expect skipper B. Aparajith to bowl his off-spinners. And then the pitch might assist the seamers," State selection panel chief M. Senthilnathan told Sportstar.

To make matters worse, the team is already without experienced opener Murali Vijay, who has a knee problem, limited-overs skipper Dinesh Karthik, who is nursing a wrist injury, and Ranji captain Vijay Shankar, who is down with a viral fever. 

"We can't erase the past. What has happened has happened. We are optimistic about future games. Actually, I am excited to see so much young fresh blood on the side. I am looking forward to seeing them in action, how they handle the pressure, respond to situations," the chief selector said of the dilemma that the team suffers.