Ex-India bowler Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was bashed by netizens after he mocked seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin following his inclusion in the national squad announced for the forthcoming ODI World Cup.

 

It is worth mentioning that Ravichandran Ashwin only made it into the Indian cricket team after Axar Patel, initially picked for the World Cup, got injured at the last minute.

 

Axar Patel suffered a quadriceps injury during India's match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka last month.

 

The left-arm orthodox bowler was sent to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to expedite his recovery but failed to get fit for the tournament.

 

Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin, who last played an ODI in January 2022 before being drafted into the Indian team for the recently concluded three-match series against Australia, impressed almost everyone, including the fans, selectors and former players with his performance against Pat Cummins and his boys.

 

In the two games he played against the Kangaroos, Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed four wickets. His figures of 3/41 in Indore, where he posed serious problems for Australian batters, appear to have convinced skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid to recall him for the World Cup.

 

Besides, the World Cup is being played in India, handing Ravichandran Ashwin a massive advantage in home conditions. With his wide range of variations and ability to impart turn on his stock balls, he could be lethal on slow and dry Indian pitches.

 

Yet Laxman Sivaramakrishnan wasn't convinced about Ravichandran Ashwin becoming a part of India's World Cup squad.

 

Instead, he blamed the Indian curators for preparing undercooked pitches in India to assist the Tamil Nadu-born spinner during Test matches at home, which he opined was the prime reason behind his success in red-ball cricket.

 

“Indian batsman are struggling against spin because the pitches in India are doctored for Ashwin in Test matches. Look at his record in SENA Countries,” Laxman Sivaramakrishnan said on Twitter.

 

 “Any fool will get wickets on tampered pitches in India. Go straight from the airport to the ground and tell the ground staff what areas to tamper, I have seen with my own eyes several times,” former India leg-spinner added.

 

“378 wickets in India. He is still playing because there is nobody else. Liability fielder – 20. Most unfit cricketer. Gives excuses for everything,” Laxman Sivaramakrishnan elaborated, explaining the reasons behind his explosive rant against Ravichandran Ashwin.

 

Following Laxman Sivaramakrishnan's scathing attack on Ravichandran Ashwin, the latter's supporters hit back at him, slamming him for using such harsh words for India's premier spinner.

“Perhaps in Ravi Ashwin Laxman Sivaramakrishnan sees everything he couldn't be. A champion spinner who has dominated both red ball and white ball at his peak, a multi-time World Cup winner and so much more,” a fan wrote on Twitter, now rebranded as X.

 

“Ash has enough and more records in comparison to Siva. Please Stop this crap Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. Fortunately, Ravichandran Ashwin is not an addict and has handled his career and self very well,” another pointed out.

 

“Laxman Sivaramakrishnan needed some attention. You got it, sir. And I must say Ashwin is going to be a key player for India in this World Cup,” a third stated. 

For the unversed, Ravichandran Ashwin is only the second cricketer who was also a part of India's previous World Cup triumph in 2011, the other being talismanic batter Virat Kohli.

 

Like Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was unhappy with the move of the national selectors as he wanted either Yuzvendra Chahal or Washington Sundar to replace Axar Patel and not Ravichandran Ashwin.

 

“I personally feel the only miss in this side is Yuzvendra Chahal. I think the only aspect that is missing from this team is a leg-spinner,” Yuvraj Singh said at a public event in Delhi.

 

“I was very keen to see Washington Sundar in the side if we are not picking up Yuzi. But maybe the team wanted an experienced bowler, so that is why I think they went with R Ashwin,” he mentioned.

 

Rohit Sharma and his boys will open their campaign in the tournament with a mouth-watering clash against five-time champions Australia in Chennai on October 8.

 

Considering the host country won the last three World Cups, India would have a great chance of ending their 12-year drought in the event.

India became the first home team to lift the World Cup in 2011, with Australia and England winning the subsequent two editions in 2015 and 2019. 

India's squad for ICC ODI World Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.