Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has always been a big admirer of recently retired Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. While the latter went on to establish himself as a red-ball legend, Gambhir believed that he should have played a lot more white-ball cricket for India.
Ashwin ended his illustrious international career with 106 Test matches in which he claimed 537 scalps at an average of 24, with 37 five-fers and eight 10-wicket match hauls. In contrast, he featured in 116 ODIs and claimed 156 scalps at an average of 33.20. In T20Is, the veteran Tamil Nadu cricketer picked up 72 wickets in 65 matches at an average of 23.22 and an economy rate of 6.90.
In MS Dhoni’s absence, Gambhir led India in a five-match ODI series against New Zealand in November-December 2010. The hosts thumped the Kiwis 5-0 and Ashwin finished as the leading wicket-taker, with 11 scalps at an average of 21.90. Speaking after the 5-0 triumph, Gambhir was effusive in his praise of the off-spinner. He said (as quoted by ESPNcricinfo):
Ashwin claimed 3-50 in the first one-dayer in Guwahati, which India won by 40 runs and 2-49 in the third match in Vadodara, which the Men in Blue won by nine wickets. The off-spinner claimed 2-66 in the fourth game in Bengaluru before picking up 3-24 in eight overs in the fifth and final ODI in Chennai.
While Ashwin never picked up a five-wicket haul in the one-dayers for India, he did come up with some memorable performances in the format. The off-spinner’s best of 4-25 was registered against the UAE in Perth during the 2015 World Cup.
The veteran Tamil Nadu cricketer also claimed 3-28 against England in Kolkata in October 2011, 3-28 against the West Indies in North Sound in June 2017 and 3-32 against Sri Lanka in Perth in February 2012. His last one-dayer for the Men in Blue was against Australia in Chennai in the 2023 World Cup in October last year. He claimed 1-34 in 10 overs.
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