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Former India spin-bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin feels Suryakumar Yadav-led India are yet to be tested since their ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in Barbados. Since then, India have registered series wins on home soil against Bangladesh and in South Africa. Ahead of the five-T20I series against Jos Buttler's England, Ashwin reflected on India's revamped T20I team so far.
“Bangladesh was a weak team, while South Africa fielded a second-string pace attack, although their batting was excellent,” Ashwin said on “Ash Ki Baat” as quoted by The Indian Express.
“We played against Bangladesh, but they are no match for India. I think that series was a mismatch. I think that series should not be considered a true reflection of our strength.”
“Against South Africa, they also rested many of their key players. They rested their bowlers for the Test series, and our batters capitalized by scoring big totals,” he added.
'Bazball vs Skyball'
Ashwin is excited to see the challenge England pose. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) cricketer says that batting-friendly wickets will make for a batting spectacle from January 22 to February 2.
“This new era of fearless cricket by India will be tested against a high-quality England side. This series will be a proper test of our abilities.”
“Bazball vs Skyball will be an exciting spectacle. This series will also test India’s T20I depth.”
“All the venues are batting-friendly, with small boundaries and high-scoring grounds.”
“Both teams are packed with powerful hitters, and it promises to be an entertaining series for fans who enjoy aggressive batting.”
How T20 cricket has evolved
Ashwin also pointed out that there has been a massive change in approach in recent years which has led to batters being more flexible in the T20 format.
“This T20I era is all about flexibility,” he said.
“Three or four years ago, batters were reluctant to play out of their usual positions, but bowlers now vary their bowling strategies throughout the 20 overs.”
Ashwin predicts India's batting lineup
The 38-year-old also talked about India's playing XI for the first T20I at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. He is waiting to see if the likes of Suryakumar, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson will be able to score freely against the English bowling lineup as well.
“Sanju Samson has been exceptional as an opener. Tilak Verma also excelled in South Africa. 1 It will be interesting to see if Surya, Tilak, and Sanju can maintain their high strike rates against the strong English attack,” he said.
“The playing XI is fairly straightforward. There might be a toss-up between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar, but at Eden, with dew likely to play a significant role, India might opt for Nitish.”
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