• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Why India Dropped Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Vs West Indies Explains R Ashwin

Why India Dropped Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma vs West Indies, Explains R Ashwin

image-lkur4vk9Ashwin was part of India's set-up in the earlier Test series vs West Indies (AP Photo)

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were both unexpectedly benched by India for the second ODI against the West Indies. Despite losing there, the Men in Blue did not include them in the decisive match. Why was that the case? The game's diehard supporters received a thorough explanation from Ravichandran Ashwin.

On his YouTube channel, Ashwin recently brought attention to how "stressful" it is for cricket players to play an ODI match. The talismanic off-spinner continued by discussing India's current situation, which is plagued by injuries; if one of the regulars had been added to the list just before the ODI World Cup, it would have been a further setback.


ODIs are very stressful, says Ashwin

"ODI matches are very stressful. It will take at least two days for your body to recover. The first two matches in West Indies were played in a gap of 24 hours. Thus, there are more chances of you getting injured. Already we have so many players recovering at the NCA. Bumrah is back after a long hiatus. Prasidh Krishna is back too. So, we have so many injury problems. It seems like people are finding points to blame Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma just for the sake of it," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

In addition, Ashwin criticized some of the Indian fans’ idiotic behavior following the defeat in the second ODI versus the West Indies. The veteran bashed them, saying their sole focus is on winning the World Cup above all else, and they do not even care about the reasoning.


I don't understand why this outrage on India: Ashwin

"India lost the second ODI, and immediately the trend in social media was - why so-and-so players played and why so-and-so players did not play. I seriously don’t understand why this outrage. Rohit and Virat didn't play in the second ODI. Even in the first match, Rohit batted lower down the order. So the debate was around whether Rohit and Virat should have played," he added.

India, under Hardik Pandya, will next play the five-match ODI series against West Indies, starting to get underway on August 3 in Tarouba.