Picture Credit: Twitter/@ashwinravi99
Ravichandran Ashwin's absence from India's playing XI in the third Test against England was a topic of debate among the Indian fans. The team management went in with 4 pacers and Ravindra Jadeja as the sole spinner. The team selection has raised a few eyebrows as the Indian fans were left disappointed with Ashwin's continued absence in the team. In the ongoing series, India have fielded with only one spinner in Ravindra Jadeja in all 3 Tests.
Earlier, even skipper Virat Kohli had mentioned that they were tempted to play off-spinner Ashwin in the third Test. However, India again picked Jadeja ahead of Ashwin, currently the second-ranked Test bowler. As Team India fought hard on Day 3 of the Test to come back in the match, Ashwin confused fans by posting a couple of photos of him batting left-handed in the nets. Notably, the pictures posted by Ashwin were actually mirrored images.
Ashwin captioned the post, "The desire to ignite something different every day never burns out." Ashwin hinted that he was willing to try something different and wanted to add another skill to his arsenal. Moreover, Ashwin is known for experimenting with his bowling as well. He has developed several variations and he even tried to bowl leg-spin once.
Check out Ashwin's post here:
As soon as Ashwin posted the image on social media, fans joked that Ashwin is directly competing with Ravindra Jadeja for a spot in the playing XI by batting left-handed. Fans also reckoned that Ashwin has been a key factor in India’s red-ball cricket over the last few years and the off-spinner deserves a chance in the next Test. Having played 78 Tests, Ashwin has picked 409 wickets for India and has 30-five wicket hauls to his name.