‘Why Not Axar?’ - Ashwin Unconvinced By India’s Strategy To Play Nitish Reddy At Home

India’s recently-concluded two-Test series at home against West Indies witnessed something extremely rare as the side played a seam-bowling all-rounder in Nitish Reddy in not one, but both the Tests. India have not had a seam-bowling all-rounder play Tests at home regularly since the days of Irfan Pathan, but Nitish’s emergence has seen the management fit him in.

Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said before the Delhi Test that the management are using home Tests to develop Nitish, and he further asserted that they will not be too bothered by his output as they know that his role will be limited. 

But unconvinced by this strategy is Ravichandran Ashwin, who believes that the team would be better off either playing a specialist batter or someone like Axar Patel, who has proven to be a cheat code at home, with both bat and ball.

“If this is Nitish Reddy’s role, I feel you can play a specialist batter or a bowler. You could play Axar Patel. What less has he done? He has been a match-winner,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki baat’, reported Times of India.

“When does Nitish Reddy come into play? I am not saying you need an extra bowler; if not, then play a specialist batter only. Axar has done much better than Nitish in this role.

“Axar has the best defence against spin. So, if you’re not using him, especially when you have Siraj, Bumrah, and a second seamer, then Nitish can play for batting depth. Otherwise, I don’t see the point. Nitish is a fine batter, but there could be a bit more clarity on his role,” he added.

In home Tests, Axar has taken 47 wickets at an average of 18.65, while also averaging 39.60 with the bat in hand. But he is no longer a starter thanks to the emergence of Washington Sundar and the form of Kuldeep Yadav.

Nitish, meanwhile, batted just once in the entire series against West Indies and scored 43. He bowled 4 overs in the first Test but did not bowl in the second Test.