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'We can't protect such players, in Australia and England...': R Ashwin's blunt statement on Indian cricket
Ravichandran Ashwin was all praise for the Australian batters after the visitors kept India out on the field in Ahmedabad for nearly two full days.
The fourth Test between India and Australia has been a hard grind for the bowlers, for a change. While all three previous matches of the series suited spinners and got over within two and a half days, Australia kept India out on the field for a better part of the first two days in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad. The visitors were eventually all out for a mammoth 480 and India closed out the day on 36/0.
Australia's innings was bolstered by a 208-run stand between Cameron Green and Usman Khawaja. Both players scored centuries, their first against India, while it was a first in Test cricket overall for 23-year-old all-rounder Cameron Green. Green scored 114 off 170 balls while Khawaja fell after scoring 180 off a whopping 422 balls. Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who had dismissed Green and ended the big stand, said that the big amount that the all-rounder fetched at the 2023 Indian Premier League auction shows just how highly regarded he is in India's cricket circles.
"I hope you tuned into the IPL auction. It just tells you how the Indian cricket fraternity rates Cameron Green," he answered to a question from one of the Australian scribes after the day's play on Friday. Green was acquired by the Mumbai Indians for ₹17..5 crore, thus becoming the most expensive Australian in the history of the IPL.
"I think he is a fantastic player. Just the raw material he has, tall, lovely levers, good batting sense, can hit the deck hard while bowling, moves pretty well; these are once-in-a-generation cricketer that you are talking about," said Ashwin.
Ashwin then observed that countries like England and Australia do a better job at protecting a player like Green. "However, we come from different countries, India is very different. We can't protect such players for longer periods of time. It is perform or perish (in India). In countries like Australia and England, these cricketers are groomed pretty well. Expect Cameron Green to be a wonderful cricketer down the line," Ashwin said.
Green, who has developed a reputation for big-hitting while opening the batting for Australia in his short T20 International career, gave the visitors' effort a much needed impetus at the end of the first day by scoring at a higher rate. He then hunkered down with Khawaja and ensured that India have a wicketless first two sessions on Day 2. His innings included 18 boundaries.
