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India’s recent Test assignment against Sri Lanka was a series to remember for many reasons. While the first game marked at Mohali marked Virat Kohli’s 100th Test, the second at Bengaluru gave India’s new all-format captain Rohit Sharma a winning start to his red-ball leadership. Indian cricket has witnessed a significant change in leadership lately but the two cricket superstars remain an integral part of the team regardless of their roles. (Also Read | ‘The way he’s been batting is phenomenal. A great find for India’: KL Rahul reserves huge praise for ‘360-degree’ player)
Kohli at present is associated with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) while Rohit is leading Mumbai Indians (MI) in their quest for a record sixth Indian Premier League (IPL) title. Dismissing both Indian stars is a dream for any bowler and seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also enjoys the contest against the “two quality batters”.
“I love going head-on with Virat and Rohit, to be honest. I think they are two quality batters that have played with me inside the dressing room, not two batters that I’ve got repeated contests against at an international arena. But I get to go against them in the IPL format so I love going against them. They don’t like getting out to bowlers inside the team so I enjoy the contest and look forward to it every year,” said Ashwin on ESPNcricinfo’s show “Polite Enquiries”.
Ashwin, who has removed Kohli once and Rohit twice in the lucrative T20 competition, will be up against the two batting greats when Rajasthan Royals play Mumbai Indians on April 2nd and Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 5th.
He has bagged more than 200 wickets of left-handers in Test cricket but Ashwin feels his phenomenal record against the southpaws could be a “psychological” thing. The tweaker recently replaced Jason Holder at the No. 2 position in the ICC Test Rankings for all-rounders.
“I am actually not too sure about it. Even at the nets, I am not bowling to a lot of left-handers. There are not a lot of left-handed Indian batters coming through so I am not bowling to a lot of them. (It) may be psychological, maybe something that I am used to, or maybe something I like. I am not entirely sure about it,” he further said.
Talking about Ashwin’s current IPL franchise, the Royals have got off to a solid start with a comfortable 61-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. While the seasoned off-spinner went wicketless but conceded just 21 runs in his four, leggie Yuzvendra Chahal claimed three wickets to reach 250 scalps in T20 games.Â
The Royals bowling attack was led by Prasidh Krishna, who rattled the top-order including dismissing opposition skipper Kane Williamson for two. Trent Boult also chipped in with two wickets.
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