Gautam Gambhir‘s right-hand man Ryan ten Doeschate has revealed the real reason behind veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin replacing Washington Sundar in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
The Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff surprised Washington Sundar for the pink-ball Test against the Australian National Cricket Team in Adelaide, replacing him with Ravichandran Ashwin.
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Ravichandran Ashwin returns to India’s XI after being tested in the Perth Test by Gautam Gambhir’s management.
Ravichandran Ashwin is the seventh highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket with 536 wickets in his bag and has scored 3496 runs in the longest format of the game with the bat.
It was ignored for the test series Gautam Gambhir-led management opened in Perth as Washington picked Sundar as the only spinner in the team.
The youngster did well in the Perth Test but was dropped for the second match in Adelaide. Ravichandran Ashwin returned to the side and did well with the bat on Day 1.
Ravichandran Ashwin came out to bat after India’s innings and he steadied the innings with a decent partnership with Nitish Kumar Reddy. Ashwin and Reddy added 32 runs in 35 balls and ensured that the momentum remained on the Indian side.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin scored 22 runs at a strike rate of 100, the best among Indians, before being dismissed by an incredible yorker. Mitchell Starc in the 39th.
With the ball, Ravichandran Ashwin was introduced on 32 – the second last over of the day – and he bowled a maiden.
We just thought Ravichandran Ashwin would be a bit more effective – Ryan ten Doeschate
Speaking after the match on Day 1, Ryan ten Doeschate said they picked Ravichandran Ashwin for the Adelaide Test, looking at his perfect record with the pink ball.
He said they have confidence in Nitish Kumar Reddy’s batting skills and feel there is no need for additional depth in the batting order. Ryan ten Doeschate added that the team management felt that Ravichandran Ashwin would be more effective with the ball on the Adelaide surface.
“He hasn’t put a foot wrong since the halfway point of the New Zealand series. I think going into the last Test, we wanted to strengthen the batting and given what we saw of Nitish in the first game, we batted. After the Test, we thought we’re the guys who are bowling the best spin at the moment. we can go with what we are doing and Ash (Ashwin) can score more runs in these conditions,” ten Doeschate explained the decision behind Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion.
“When you have the credibility of Nitish batting at seven, Ash batting at eight doesn’t matter and that was the thinking. There’s not much to choose between them and we thought Ash would be a bit more effective on this wicket,” he added.
We still feel like we’re in the game – Ryan ten Doeschate
At stumps on Day 1, the Australian National Cricket Team were 86/1, trailing by just 94 runs. The Indian National Cricket Team looked under pressure at the end of the day.
However, Ryan ten Doeschate remains optimistic and he believes the Indian team is still in the game. He said:
“I know the points seem like a big gap between the two teams but we feel we are still in the game and we can get back into the game tomorrow (Saturday, December 7, 2024) with a few tweaks.”
