Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has expressed concerns about veteran Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who he believes is expected to play a crucial role in India's World Test Championship campaign. Runners-up in the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship, Kohli-starrer Team India is scheduled to meet hosts Bangladesh in the bilateral series decider on Thursday at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill slammed centuries in the series opener as India crushed Bangladesh by 188 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. While Pujara, Gill, and Shreyas Iyer played crucial knocks with the bat in Chattogram, spinner Kuldeep Yadav overshadowed veteran all-rounder Ashwin with his sensational five-wicket haul. Visitors India are set to miss the services of skipper Rohit Sharma, who is ruled out of the 2nd Test against Bangladesh.
Speaking ahead of the series decider between India and Bangladesh, Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar opined that veteran spinner Ashwin will have to rediscover his form if the Asian giants want to secure their berth in the World Test Championship final. “Ashwin's bowling is a bit of a worry because I personally feel he is our No. 1 Test bowler. He hasn't had much success in Bangladesh and will need to find form if we want to get the four wins from our last five Tests to enter the final,” Rajkumar told India News.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking ahead of the series decider between India and Bangladesh, Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar opined that veteran spinner Ashwin will have to rediscover his form if the Asian giants want to secure their berth in the World Test Championship final. “Ashwin's bowling is a bit of a worry because I personally feel he is our No. 1 Test bowler. He hasn't had much success in Bangladesh and will need to find form if we want to get the four wins from our last five Tests to enter the final,” Rajkumar told India News.
{{/usCountry}}Ashwin played a crucial knock of 58 in the 1st Test match against Bangladesh. However, the veteran spinner only bagged a single wicket in India's comfortable win over the hosts. Ashwin has taken 443 wickets in 87 Test matches for Team India. "The fitness of [Mohammed] Shami and [Jasprit] Bumrah is also not certain, which makes it even more crucial for Ashwin to find form," Kohli's childhood coach added.