R Ashwin Rings Alarm Bell, Gives Big 'World Cup' Warning To India Despite Sydney Win
Legendary former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wasn't particularly impressed with one area of Team India after their series defeat to Australia.
- Ravichandran Ashwin has issued a warning to Team India regarding their fast bowling attack
- Despite victory in the third ODI against Australia, Ashwin expressed concern over the pace unit
- "India needs to fix their fast bowling. Who will be support bowlers for Bumrah at the World Cup?": Ashwin
India suffered their first two ODI defeats of 2025 against Australia in the recently-concluded three-match series Down Under. India lost the first two games after failing to defend their totals, with regular pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah absent from the ODI squad. Legendary former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has now raised concern regarding the composition of India's pace attack, with the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna showing glimpses but not consistent brilliance during the Australia series.
"India needs to fix their fast bowling attack. If Bumrah is not there then who are our bowlers? Who will be the support bowlers for Bumrah when we play the World Cup?" stated Ashwin, speaking on his Hindi YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.
23-year-old Harshit Rana finished as the top wicket-taker of the series, scalping four wickets in the final ODI to end on six scalps in total.
Mohammed Siraj impressed with his control, finishing with an economy rate of under 5, while Arshdeep Singh took three wickets in his two games.
Meanwhile, Ashwin was bullish regarding India's spin attack.
"We also got to see a different side of this Indian spin attack. I have been saying this. When any opponent is new, India's spin-choke is very tough for them to handle. We should continue with this. Even in South Africa (the venue for the World Cup 2027), the spin's role will be important. Our spin quality is way better than any other team's spin quality at this point of time," Ashwin said.
India have a plethora of spin-bowling options in their arsenal. Washington Sundar scalped five wickets while Axar Patel impressed with bat and ball in the series against Australia. Kuldeep Yadav got only one game despite being in tremendous form, while two high quality veterans in Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy did not even feature in the squad.
India Cricket Team
Jasprit Bumrah
Ravichandran Ashwin