Ashwin urges Indian cricket fans to follow tri-nation series in Pakistan
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Ravichandran Ashwin is excited about the ongoing tri-nation ODI series in Pakistan and has urged Indian fans to follow every cricketing action regardless of the involvement of the Men in Blue.
The recently retired off-spinner now churns out regular content on his YouTube page. In the latest episode, Ashwin shared his excitement about the tri-series featuring Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.
"I'm excited to watch this series," Ashwin said as he recollected his younger days waiting for tri-series events in the summer. Ashwin reminisced about getting goosebumps watching Sachin Tendulkar's Desert Storm innings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the late 90s.
"I missed that feeling.. of late, there was simply no time for anybody to play tri-series after bi-lateral series, Tests, T20s and IPLs. But South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan have reinitiated a tri-series. The revival of tri-series is like giving oxygen to 50-over cricket," Ashwin said.
The 38-year-old said Indian cricket fans should also follow such tri-series involving rival teams. "By watching every other cricket match helps us understand the game better. We can compare our players with those of other countries. It is not the right approach to hail or criticise our players without observing other players," Ashwin said.
The former India international said he was particularly excited about Fakhar Zaman's return to the Pakistani side. Ashwin hailed Zaman as a top-notch white-ball player. However, he is disappointed with the injury that exciting young Pakistani opener Saim Ayub sustained.
Ashwin is also curious to know how Mohammad Rizwan performs batting down the order. He is also looking forward to the approach from New Zealand and South Africa ahead of the Champions Trophy beginning next week.
India and Pakistan do not play each other outside ICC and ACC tournaments due to diplomatic tension between the neighbouring countries. Ashwin took 537 wickets in Tests, but he never played a single Test match against Pakistan despite representing India in over 100 five-day internationals in a career spanning 13 years.