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'Why not Ashwin?': Former India selector backs star spinner in key Test leadership role after WTC final debacle
Ravichandran Ashwin being left out of the squad for the WTC final was questioned by many, including Sachin Tendulkar.
India's challenge in the World Test Championship (WTC) final ended in a bit of an anticlimax with Rohit Sharma's side collapsing in the first session of Day 5 to 234 all out. They thus lost to Australia by 209 runs, thus marking the second time that they have missed out on the WTC mace. It also continued a larger dry spell in ICC trophy competitions that stretches back to 2013.
With the new WTC cycle set to begin, India might be looking to revamp their Test team and vice-captain Cheteshwar Pujara and even captain Rohit Sharma are among those whose future is up in the air. Former national selector Devang Gandhi said that it might be prudent to give a young contender like Yashasvi Jaiswal a chance ahead of someone like Pujara in India's Test series against the West Indies in August.
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"The problem is that you give a West Indies Test series to Pujara and if he scores, you have got to persist with him for one more year as there are no Tests after this till December. So do you do that or straightaway get a youngster and get him ready for bigger battles," the former selector is quoted as saying by PTI.
While Shubman Gill is seen as a candidate for future leadership roles, Gandhi said that someone like Ravichandran Ashwin or Ajinkya Rahane could be considered for vice-captaincy until the opener comes of age. "Why not Ashwin? And if you say that he is not a certainty overseas, then I would say even Rahane, despite being a vice-captain, was dropped from playing XI at one point. So even Ashwin can be considered or Rahane for a short time before Gill cements his place in Test XI," Gandhi opined.
India will embark on a full tour of the Carribean in July which start a two-match Test series. The first Test will be played in Dominica from July 12 to 16 after which the second Test will be played in Trinidad from July 20 to 24.
