I wish I could walk into Rahul Dravid's shoes: Ashwin talks about Kohli's absence

Ravichandran Ashwin (PC: Twitter)

Famous for his witty replies, Ravichandran Ashwin has once again delivered a blunt response to the reporters asking about Virat Kohli's absence in the warm up fixture against Western Australia. 

India faced Western Australia on Monday (October 10) in Perth. Batting first, India posted a total of 158 on the board, with contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (52) and Hardik Pandya (27). 

In response, Western Australia could only finish on 145, with Arshdeep Singh taking three wickets. 

It was a good start for the Men in Blue during their preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup. However, they missed the services of Kohli and KL Rahul, who were also seen practising on the ground after the conclusion of the game. In addition, Ashwin didn't take part in the action as well. 

In an interaction with the reporters, the 35-year-old reckoned that he would look to walk in the shoes of head coach Rahul Dravid, to answer the questions on the non-availability of Kohli. 

"I wish I could walk into Rahul Dravid's shoes one day and answer that question, but as of now, your guess is as good as mine," said Ashwin on Kohli's absence. 

Furthermore, the veteran spinners thinks that it was critical for them to reach well ahead of the showpiece event in order to acclimatize and get a good idea of pace and bounce. In this regard, he pointed that the likes of Arshdeep, Harshal Patel and Deepak Hooda are on their first tour to Australia, and will get enough time for preparation. 

The Indian team will next clash with Western Australia on Thursday (October 13), and the trio of Kohli, Rahul and Ashwin are expected to play the game. 

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