Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif on Wednesday took to Twitter to voice his opinion about off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's omission from India's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad, despite him performing well in the just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. As a Delhi Capitals assistance head coach, Kaif saw Ashwin's performance from close quarters and feels that Ashwin still has a lot to offer and can be a "valuable asset" to India's T20I side. To put forth his argument, Kaif, in his tweet, pointed out some of the key wickets Ashwin took in the IPL 2020. Leading Delhi Capitals' spin-bowling attack, R Ashwin dismissed some of the big names like Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and David Warner, among others -- that too in the Powerplay.
"Virat, Rohit, Pollard, Gayle, Warner, QDK, Karun, Buttler, Smith, Paddikal, Pooran. Read and re-read @ashwinravi99's list of big scalps from IPL 13, mostly in power plays. Feel Ash can still be a valuable asset for India in T20Is," Kaif tweeted.
Ashwin is a regular member of Team India in the longest format but has not played a limited-overs game for India since 2017. The last T20I Ashwin played was way back in July 2017, while his last ODI cap came in June 2017 -- both against the West Indies.
In his debut season for Delhi Capitals, R Ashwin had an impressive campaign as he picked up 13 wickets from 15 matches at an economy of 7.66 runs per over.
Ashwin will next be seen in action during the four-Test series in Australia which will begin on December 17. Apart from honing his own skills, the off-spinner has also been helping other players prepare for the tough series.
On Monday, the BCCI tweeted a video in which Ashwin was seen volleying balls to KL Rahul in order to prepare him for the short-pitch bowling.