“Disappointed This Country Hasn’t…”: Gautam Gambhir’s Blunt Message To R Ashwin

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir believes that it is disappointing that the nation never got to witness Ravichandran Ashwin bat high in the order for the Men in Blue in white ball format. In the domestic circuit, Ashwin has made a name for himself as an all-rounder across all formats. However, for India, the veteran spinner has mostly featured as a bowler, changing the tides of the game with his craft spells.

Gambhir feels that the one thing that India missed out on was putting Ashwin, who has played 100 Tests, 116 ODIs and 65 T20Is, up in the order and allowing him to show his potential with the bat.

“A bit disappointed, this country hasn’t seen the potential which you had with the bat, especially in white ball cricket. I remember a long time back I said this you should be playing batting for India at number five or six or probably at number four. But yes that is one thing which probably this country has missed out,” Gambhir said in the latest episode of Ravichandran Ashwin’s Kutti Stories.

“They have seen the potential of you with the ball what you have done in Test cricket but probably haven’t seen the potential you had with the bat,” he added.

In first-class cricket, Ashwin has 5,221 runs under his belt in 156 matches at an average of 28.06. In List A, Ashwin has amassed 1,346 runs at a strike rate of 77.35.

At the international stage, in 19 T20I innings, Ashwin boasts 184 runs to his name. While in the ODI format, he has 707 runs in 63 innings.

Ashwin has pulled off some memorable moments with the bat but some of those stand out from the rest of them. In 2011, he struck 103 in Mumbai. West Indies put up a mammoth total of 590 runs in the first innings.

With India reduced to 331/6, Ashwin walked out in the middle and pulled off a batting masterclass to bring India back into the game. With Virat Kohli on the other side, Ashwin went on to raise his bat for his maiden ton in 118 balls.

With the ball, Ashwin has been well known for his prowess in the art of variation. During India’s five-match Test series against England, he made 100 Test appearances and completed 500 Test wickets.