‘They always do such things. Support your team instead’: Ex-India selector attacks Australian media on ‘Ashwin’ stat

The former India selector did not mince his words when he spoke about the Australian media’s criticism of the pitch conditions at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India.

India got off to an impressive start to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last week as they registered an innings and 132-run victory over Australia in Nagpur. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (120) scored a superb century while returning player Ravindra Jadeja (70) and Axar Patel (84) contributed in the bottom order as the visitors took India’s total to 400 after being bowled out for 177 first. innings. However, the Australian batting order collapsed like a card game and the team was bowled out for just 91 runs.

However, following the match, another controversy erupted when the BCCI decided to shift the third Test of the series from Dharamsala to Indore; In a press release, the board said the ground was not suitable for a five-day Test match at the HPCA Stadium.

“Due to severe winter conditions in the region, the outfield does not have adequate grass density and will require some time to fully grow,” the BCCI wrote.

With speculations about the venue change already doing the rounds on social media, Australian media house Fox Cricket posted an interesting tweet sharing Ravichandran Ashwin’s stats in Indore. “The third India Test has been moved to a new ground… where Ravichandran Ashwin averages 12.50,” wrote the channel.
The tweet sparked criticism from Indian fans and former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Saba Karim even lashed out at the media outlet for the tweet.

“Fox Cricket always tries to do such unnecessary things. They should support their team by not doing such things. There is no point in questioning the venue or the opposing team,” Karim said in a chat with India News.

“We all know that the BCCI allocates matches on a rotational basis. Indore would have been the best choice and that is why the match has been shifted there.

Speaking further on this, Karim said that India has more Test venues than Australia and it is important that the stadiums receive international matches in the longer format.

“Unlike Australia, which has four or five Test grounds, India has a lot of Test grounds. Many states in India have developed Test grounds and it is important to get the opportunity to host matches,” said the former India selector.