Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed confidence in pacer Arshdeep Singh being part of India’s T20I XI for the Asia Cup 2025 final. India will face Pakistan in the title clash on Sunday, September 28, in Dubai. While the team has emphasized strengthening its batting lineup, Ashwin believes Arshdeep’s inclusion is important, noting that a number eight batter isn’t expected to contribute heavily with the bat.
He further suggested that the batting coach should focus on honing the skills of players like Arshdeep, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“I’ll say this even with my glasses on! Even if you wake me up from deep sleep, my answer won’t change: Arshdeep must play. How many runs will the number 8 batsman make? Not too many, and you don’t need that many.”
“And for the World Cup in six months work on Arshdeep’s batting, work on Varun Chakravarthy’s batting, Bumrah can already hit a bit, decent bat swing. The batting coach needs to give more time to these guys,” he said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’.
Ashwin Stresses Situation-Based Practice For Bowlers Ahead Of T20s
Elaborating further, Ravichandran Ashwin emphasized that bowlers should receive situation-specific practice for T20 cricket, as just spending time batting in the nets would not be sufficient for their preparation.
“Batting practice needs to be situational in T20, typically, an 8th batter might only get 4-6 balls if it is not a bad day. The goal is to maximize those balls, and Arshdeep has that long handle. But when the moment comes, say you need 15 in 10 balls, how to rotate strike, which bowler to target for boundaries? They need to talk about these things. It’s not just about net batting; it’s about practical planning against specific bowlers,” he stated.
“Sometimes pointless practice is done, tailenders, or those batting lower down, never get realistic match-like bowling in nets. How will they set up a field? These kinds of practice details matter. If they train like this, even our bowlers can become like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, or Kagiso Rabada with the bat,” Ravichandran Ashwin added.
Arshdeep has featured in only two matches during the Asia Cup 2025. With the team prioritizing batting depth, he hasn’t been a regular selection and was included only when Jasprit Bumrah was rested.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
