IPL 2020: Mohammad Kaif names one Indian player who can be a valuable asset in T20I’s

As the Indian cricket team gears up for it's upcoming series against Australia, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif said that one particular player can be a vital addition to the T20I side.

File Photo (PTI)

Former Indian cricketer and current Delhi Capitals head coach Mohammad Kaif thinks that one player can be a vital asset for India in T20I’s. Kaif named Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the T20I role. Ashwin was an integral part of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 and Kaif got a chance to work closely with the veteran Ashwin.

Kaif took to Twitter where he vouched for Ashwin’s selection into the Indian T20I squad.

“Virat, Rohit, Pollard, Gayle, Warner, QDK, Karun, Buttler, Smith, Paddikal, Pooran. Read and re-read @ashwinravi99’s list of big scalps from IPL 13, mostly in power plays. Feel Ash can still be a valuable asset for India in T20Is,” wrote Kaif.

Virat, Rohit, Pollard, Gayle, Warner, QDK, Karun, Buttler, Smith, Paddikal, Pooran. Read and re-read @ashwinravi99’s list of big scalps from IPL 13, mostly in power plays. Feel Ash can still be a valuable asset for India in T20Is.

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) November 18, 2020

Highlighting Ashwin’s tremendous success in the IPL, Kaif highlighted that the wily spinner had picked up the wickets of big name players like Virat Kohli, Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, David Warner, Quinton de Kock, Jos Buttler, Steve Smith among others. If that was not enough, Kaif added that most of these wickets were in power-plays when there are fielding restrictions.

Kaif surely has some weight in his argument as Ashwin was Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer’s go to bowler in IPL 2020, grasping 13 wickets from 15 games at a decent economy-rate of 7.66 while bowling the difficult overs in almost every game.

In India’s upcoming series against Australia, Ashwin is only a part of the Test squad and has not been selected for the ODI or T20I squads.

While Ashwin was India’s front line spinner in the limited overs format till 2017. However, ever since the emergence of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin hasn’t been seen in ODI’s and T20I’s.

Ashwin played his last T20I  in July 2017 while his last ODI appearance came in June 2017. The fact that Ashwin has been converted into a ‘Test specialist’ has dismayed a lot of his fans.

The experience of Ashwin can certainly come in handy for the Indians as they prepare for next year’s T20I World Cup at home.