Former Indian spinner and commentator Ravi Ashwin has questioned the current Indian team management’s need for bits-and-pieces cricketers as replacements for the injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Notably, Hardik has been in and out of the Indian national team of late due to various injuries. The star all-rounder last played an ODI in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final and a T20I in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Final.
On the other hand, the selection committee and team management went ahead with Shivam Dube and Suryansh Shedge as Hardik’s replacements for the recently concluded England ODI and T20I series, respectively. However, it didn’t go down well with Ashwin.
Meanwhile, the former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid, during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at home, adopted a five-bowler strategy after Hardik was ruled out of the mega event instead of bringing in a bits-and-pieces replacement.
“If Hardik is not there, it’s Nitish Kumar Reddy and then Shivam Dube. There is no point in harping about players that are not ready to play in your combination. If they are injured, they are injured. That’s par for the course in any sport. Look at the 2023 World Cup, which just fizzled out because Hardik wasn’t part of the combination. But the moment it fizzled out, they were not searching, and they did not try to play the sixth bowler. They skinned the cat differently and went with five bowlers,” Ashwin said on Cricinfo.
“They ensured the rest of the squad did not have a lack of clarity and were very stable even after Hardik’s injury. They got to the final doing that. The players and the ethos in the dressing room are what will win you the World Cup. These bits and pieces have been a fascination for this management. That’s probably why we have struggled in Tests, as Tests are firmly for the specialists. It’s match-winners with the ball and bat that this management needs to keep at the top of their mind,” he added.
Furthermore, Ashwin advised the current Indian team management, headed by Gautam Gambhir, to prepare a pool of 17 to 18 players and inform them that they are going to be backed for the next 14 months ahead of the mega event in 2027.
“There needs to be clarity before any discussions about personnel. Go to 17/18 players and tell them that we are going to pick the squad from that pool and they play the next 14 months, whoever that be. It has to have two keepers, three spinners and five pacers. Rotate the players in this pool with the vision of putting the best 11, come the first day of the World Cup. As of now, it’s lacking a lot of clarity,” he concluded.
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