During the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from international cricket. Tanush Kotian, an off-spin all-rounder from Mumbai, has been added to the squad as a replacement. Fans and experts were shocked over this pick, as there are many great spin bowling options in India.
Tanush Koitan is an experienced all-rounder with around 33 first-class matches and various domestic titles to his name. He was also a part of the India A squad, which toured Australia for an unofficial series with Australia A.
With Ashwin retiring midway through the series, India faced a shortage of spinners for the fourth and fifth Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. As a result, Mumbaikar Kotian, currently playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, was called up and is expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma stated that, “Tanush was here a month back and Kuldeep doesn’t have a visa. We needed someone to get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was ready and played well here. But jokes apart, he has been doing well over the last two years and we wanted a back-up in case we play two spinners in Sydney or Melbourne.”
He further added, “Kuldeep is not 100 percent fit as he went through a hernia surgery. Axar recently had a baby so was not going to travel. Hence, Tanush was the best option for us, and he was probably one of the reasons why Mumbai went on to win the Ranji trophy last season.”
Rohit Sharma backs Rishabh Pant for remaining Tests in Australia
Rishabh Pant, known for his aggressive and attacking batting, hasn’t been able to live up to his potential in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Despite his reputation as a game-changer, Pant has struggled to find form in the series, failing to make significant contributions with the bat. Rohit Sharma backed the youngster in his press conference and showed trust in him.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma said, “There is no such pressure. He has played just three Tests here. He has scored runs in India, has been in good form. If two or three Tests go up and down, too much judgment is not right. He knows what he has to do… See, as I told you, all these youngsters are in the same boat. We don’t want to complicate what they do. They know what they are expected to do.”
“Our job here is to keep talking them about and make them understand small things like match awareness. I don’t think we need to tell them more and complicate stuff. Rishabh knows what he has to do. He has a lot of expectations from himself too. He is certainly working hard. Perhaps we’ll see something good in last two matches.” he added.
His inconsistency has been a concern, and fans and experts are eagerly waiting for him to rediscover his best performances in the upcoming matches.
