Mystery ball that stumped Virat Kohli! R Ashwin was selectors' choice for T20 World Cup

Sources tell mid-day Virat Kohli got to know about R Ashwin’s selection only after the team was announced to the media

Ravichandran Ashwin’s surprise selection for the T20 World Cup is still a mystery in Indian cricket. According to the chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma, Ashwin was drafted in the squad after Washington Sundar was ruled out due to an injury. 

Veteran off-spinner R Ashwin last played limited-overs cricket for India in 2017. He was ignored by the previous selection committees because of lapses in fielding. So, what changed suddenly? 

R Ashwin during a practice session at Headingley, Leeds, last month. Pic/Getty Images

It is understood that Ashwin’s selection for the T20 World Cup came as a surprise to even skipper Virat Kohli. Sources in the BCCI told mid-day that Kohli got to know about Ashwin’s selection only after the team was announced in the media conference. 

It is believed that with Ashwin’s selection, the BCCI has hit two birds with one stone. First was dropping Yuzvendra Chahal, who has featured regularly in Kohli-led teams and secondly, it sent out a strong message to the Indian team management that they were not pleased with the way Ashwin was handled during the five-Test series in England where the premier off-spinner did not get a single match in four games. India went with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 160 runs and claimed six wickets. 

Virat Kohli. Pic/Getty Images

The selection of MS Dhoni as Team India mentor was to make the objective of ending the eight-year ICC trophy drought clear. So, if Kohli wasn’t capable of doing it on his own, the Indian board decided to provide him Dhoni’s astuteness.

For the record, India have faltered at the crucial hurdle in past ICC tournaments. In the 2017 Champions Trophy final, India were thrashed by arch-rivals Pakistan.
In the 2019 World Cup, India lost to New Zealand in the semi-final after a dominant show in the group stage. 

The forthcoming T20 World Cup is seen as a big test for Kohli’s limited overs captaincy.

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