‘Rishabh Pant Let Me Down’: R Ashwin Sheds Light on Unsuccessful DRS Calls During Test Series Against England
Ravichandran Ashwin spoke about the unsuccessful DRS calls against England and said that Rishabh Pant let him down on several occasions when he relied on the young wicketkeeper to judge the bounce and trajectory. He, lightheartedly, also said that he took Pant aside and explained that the Indian head-coach Ravi Shastri wasn't amused with the unsuccessful review calls.
R Ashwin has a dream run both with the bat and the ball during the four-match Test series against England. Alongside scalping 32 wickets in eight innings, he also scored a match-winning century in the second game. Riding on his brilliance, Team India won the series 3-1 and qualified for the ICC World Test Championship final. However, one area where Ashwin wasn't spot-on was the DRS (Decision Review System) calls. The veteran bowler and Indian skipper Virat Kohli got quite a few DRS decisions wrong where the local umpires were spot-on with their calls. On multiple occasions, a confident Ashwin was seen convincing his captain to challenge the umpire's decision, but the result didn't change. R Ashwin Says That He Finds Questions About His Comeback to ODI and T20Is ‘Laughable.’
In a conversation with India Today, Ashwin spoke about the same and said that Rishabh Pant let him down on several occasions when he relied on the young wicketkeeper to judge the bounce and trajectory. He, lightheartedly, also said that he took Pant aside and explained that the Indian head-coach Ravi Shastri wasn't amused with the unsuccessful review calls. Rishabh Pant’s Hilarious Comments Behind the Stumps Enthralls Netizens.
"I think we need to change the lens with which people are looking at me for the DRS. Before this series against England, my DRS (usage) was extremely good. Because you take the DRS, you need to rely on the keeper's resources. I ask valid questions in terms of saying 'I know whether the ball struck inline or not'. But with respect to the line from the angle that I am bowling and the bounce, the keeper really needs to help," Ashwin said.
"And Rishabh is actually letting me down, on a lot of occasions. I took him aside and said we need to sit down and discuss because Ravi Bhai has a few complaints about me going for DRS. So honestly, yeah, if there is one improvement I am looking to make, I will go for better DRS in the future series. I will hold myself in check, and we have been playing on red-soil pitches after a long time. It plays a huge role," he added further.
Meanwhile, Ashwin jumped to the second position in the ICC Test bowling rankings with his magnificent run in the series. He'll indeed play an important rule when India take on New Zealand in the WTC final later this year in Southampton.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 16, 2021 05:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).