VIZAG:
Murugan Ashwin happens to be the only spinner in the current Tamil Nadu limited-overs team to have earned an IPL contract for the upcoming season. Leg-spinner Ashwin was bagged by
Delhi Daredevils
for Rs 1 crore in the IPL auction held in February.
Interestingly, Ashwin, known for his accuracy, warmed the bench on most occasions in the
Vijay Hazare Trophy due to the "team combination" factor. On Sunday, too, he found himself on the bench watching his fellow bowlers being taken apart by India Red batsmen.
However, after the defeat, Ashwin was bowling for a while under the guidance of bowling coach L Balaji. With TN set to face
India Blue
in a must-win game on Monday, will Ashwin get to play in the eleven?
"We are contemplating playing Ashwin. But we haven't taken a final decision about it," said coach
Hrishikesh Kanitkar.
He further added: "It was about team combination and nothing more than that. When you lose a bowler like
Aswin Crist (top-wicket taker in the Vijay Hazare) and with the new rule to have only four fielders from 10-40 overs, it's crucial to have seamers in your team. But having said that we are thinking about the possibility of playing Ashwin."
On the defeat, Kanitkar rued his team's poor fielding show. "Our fielding wasn't up to the mark today. We were sloppy, misfielded a lot. Also we bowled 13 wides, which meant they played 52.1 overs. They also took two sensational catches to dismiss
Dinesh Karthik and Ganga Sridhar Raju. I think these things made the difference," he added.
Meanwhile,
Kaushik Gandhi
, who scored his second List A hundred, was disappointed at the fact that his ton went in vain.
"It is disappointing. While I was batting with Dinesh and Vijay, I felt like we were in control and that we would emerge on top. But their wickets fell at the wrong time for us. We tried our best and fought till the end but credit to their bowlers," Kaushik said.
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