Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion in the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 has come as a surprise to many fans, while others have termed as long due his return to the white-ball squad after four years. Ashwin, who has been a regular in the Indian Premier League( IPL), hasn’t played a T20 International for India since his last game against the West Indies in July 2017. The Indian off-spinner was named in the 15-member team India squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup by Board of Control in Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday.
Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and former cricketers including Venkatesh Prasad and Pragyan Ojha said Ashwin could prove to be a key player for India in the tournament, which is set to be held in UAE and Oman from October 17.
Cricket fans, however, seem to be divided over Ashwin’s inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad.
With 413 Test wickets in 79 matches, Ashwin is ranked the second best bowler in the longer format of the game.
But despite his 4-year long exclusion from the T20I squad, Ashwin hasn’t performed badly in the shorter format either, with 52 wickets in 46 matches at an average of nearly 23 and an economy rate just shy of 7. In 2016, Ashwin became the first Indian bowler to reach the 50-wicket mark in T20I wickets. He is also India’s highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals.
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It was the Indian Premier League(IPL) where Ashwin first grabbed the attention of the cricketing world with his debut for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the tournament’s 2009 edition. He took 12 and 16 wickets in CSK’s two consecutive IPL title wins in 2010 and 2011.
The 2010 IPL performance earned him a place in India’s squad for the 2010 Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa, where he ended up as the leading wicket-taker and player of the tournament.
Ashwin took his 100th IPL wicket in 2016 while playing for Rising Pune Supergiants.
Many fans were also miffed with the exclusion of Shikhar Dhawan and Yuzvendra Chahal from the sqaud.
