It’s nothing new that news channels and social media spread all kinds of absurd rumours just to gain views without giving a bit of thought as to how it might affect the people. That has been the thing in the field of Sports journalism as well for quite some time now. Just recently, the rumour that there was a rift between Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli which caused the spinner to file a complaint against the then Indian captain, had gone crazily viral. Later, Ashwin himself came out and talked about it in public, bashing the news channels responsible for spreading this fake news. Now, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has opened up on the issue and has given a very informative insight.
Dada said that it was actually on Virat Kohli’s insistence that Ravichandran Ashwin was selected for India’s T20 World Cup squad after such a long period of staying away from white ball cricket entirely.
“I wasn’t sure whether he would be a part of the white-ball (set-up). But then Virat Kohli wanted him in the side. And whatever little bit of opportunity he got, I thought he was superb,” Ganguly said.
Sourav Ganguly also added that Ravichandran Ashwin’s constant success in Test cricket has also been a big reason why he is again being considered for the shorter formats.
“Look at his Test record, it is phenomenal. It does not need me to say Ravichandran Ashwin is exceptional. His record and his performances show that he is exceptional. And you can’t ignore such players. You cannot just turn your eyes and say that he’s gone. I am not surprised with what he is doing,” he said.
“Everybody speaks about him. Look at Rahul Dravid’s statement after the (Kanpur) Test match – he called him an all-time great and one of the biggest match-winners. You don’t need rocket science to judge Ashwin’s talent. My appreciation just comes from what I see. It may be Ashwin, it may be (Shreyas) Iyer, it may be Rohit (Sharma), it may be Virat (Kohli). And I just say what I see. There is nothing more to it,” he added.
“I don’t see a reason why (I shouldn’t back him). Look at the number of winning teams he has been a part of. 2011 World Cup, he was part of the winning team for India. 2013, when he won the Champions Trophy, he was a leading bowler in that tournament. When CSK won IPLs, he was the main bowler for them, bowling in the powerplay and difficult situations,” elaborated Ganguly.