‘Ravi Ashwin strangely came back to ODI side and India paid the price’ – Sanjay Manjrekar criticizes spinner's show against SA

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar had some hard words after India lost the ODI series against South Africa. He criticized Ravi Ashwin for his performance on the tour and mentioned that Ashwin didn’t contribute much in the two ODIs that he played. Ashwin, who played his first ODI after a gap of five years has often been criticized by Manjrekar for his performance in SENA countries.

Ashwin returned with a figure of 53 runs for one wicket in the first ODI and made seven runs with the bat. In the second ODI, he failed to pick a wicket and gave away 68 runs in ten overs. He was rested for the final ODI of the series after India lost the first two matches. India made four changes in the third match but that didn’t help as the team lost by four runs.

Manjrekar mentioned that Ashwin’s place hurt the team and also called his comeback to the ODI setup strange. He was also critical of Yuzvendra Chahal’s performance in the ODI series who picked two wickets in three matches at an average of 73.50.

“Ashwin strangely came back into India’s ODI plans for some reason. India paid a price for that. He played the two crucial games, did nothing much. (Yuzvendra) Chahal also under the scanner. Prasidh Krishna needs to be backed a bit more. Also, in 50-overs, Mohammed Shami can be a good option,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.

Deepak Chahar should be preferred over Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Sanjay Manjrekar

Manjrekar also mentioned that Bhuvneshwar Kumar has found it difficult to perform and get back to his best. He also stated that Deepak Chahar has performed exceptionally well and the team management should prefer him over Bhuvneshwar.

“Bowling wise, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had given signs even before this series that he is finding it difficult to get back to his best. I guess that issue is closed after seeing his performance in the series. And Deepak Chahar, the one ball to get Janneman Malan, should tell selectors that he is a better option,” he said.

Manjrekar concluded that this tour to South Africa is one of the poorest shows by the Indian team against Proteas.

“The way the match ended sums up the whole trip for India. It has to be one of the poorest Indian tours to South Africa. That’s how it was destined to be. It just wasn’t India’s time in South Africa. It is a bad loss,” he said.