India and New Zealand are currently involved in an assignment. For this series, apart from the senior players, even the coaching staff, led by Rahul Dravid, have taken a break. However, in a recent press conference, former Head Coach Ravi Shastri questioned the logic. He mentioned that the coaches would want to watch the players closely and they would anyways have a break during the IPL. R Ashwin has now come back on this. Here, we take a look as R Ashwin gives a strong reply to Ravi Shastri who questioned Rahul Dravid about taking frequent breaks.
R Ashwin replies to Ravi Shastri
It is not the first time that Rahul Dravid and co. have taken a break. A few months ago, too, there was a similar situation. However, in Shastri’s tenure, this did not happen often.
Speaking about this on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, “I will explain why Laxman has gone there with a completely different team because even that could be interpreted differently. Rahul Dravid and his team put in extensive hard work ahead of the T20 World Cup, right from planning, since I saw this from close quarters, I’m saying this. They had specific in-depth plans for each venue and each opposition. So they would have been under not only mental but also physical burnout and everyone needed a break.”
The off-spinner finished, saying “As soon as the New Zealand series ends, we have the Bangladesh tour. That’s why we have a different coaching staff led by Laxman for this tour.” It now needs to be seen if Rahul Dravid has a comment to make about Shastri’s words.
📸 📸 Snapshots from #TeamIndia's traditional welcome at Mt. Maunganui
Image Courtesy: Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media#NZvIND pic.twitter.com/K4yUiScPO7
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 19, 2022
Ashwin might be restricted to Tests from now on
Meanwhile, R Ashwin’s career could change after the 2022 T20 World Cup. He was disappointing and for the upcoming T20 and ODI squads, Ashwin has been excluded. Washington Sundar has been given a comeback and is likely to be groomed for the limited-overs squads.
Ashwin is in the final few years of his career. With some important Test tournaments coming up, it is important that he remains in peak fitness. In this regard, he could be asked to focus only on Tests from now on.
