Tanush Kotian named as Ravichandran Ashwin’s replacement for next two test matches in Melbourne and Sydney.
Tanush Kotian, the Mumbai offspin-bowling allrounder, has been picked as R Ashwin’s replacement in India’s squad for the fourth and fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests.
After Ashwin retires at the conclusion of the third Test in Brisbane, Kotian is anticipated to board a flight to Melbourne on Tuesday. As a member of the Mumbai team competing for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he is presently in Ahmedabad.
The five-match series is equal 1-1 going into Thursday’s start of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. When Axar Patel is unable to play, Kotian is anticipated to provide the backup for the team’s two spinners, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja.
When asked a day after Kotian’s call-up, Rohit Sharma joked: “Tanush was here a month back [with India A], and Kuldeep [Yadav] I don’t think has a visa… we wanted somebody to get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was the one who was ready and he played here.”
Rohit quickly clarified that he had been joking, and elaborated: “Not that Tanush is not good enough. He’s shown in the last two years what he’s done in domestic cricket. And we really wanted just a back-up in case we need two spinners playing here [MCG] or Sydney. You need a back-up option.
“Kuldeep of course is not 100% fit. He went through a hernia surgery. And the other options, like Axar – Axar had a baby, so he’s not going to travel. Tanush was the right option for us at this point. He’s certainly shown in the domestic level what he’s capable of. He’s probably one of the reasons why Mumbai has gone on to win the Ranji Trophy last year. He played a major role as an allrounder, so a very good option for us.”
At an average of 25.70, Kotian, 26, has taken 101 wickets in 33 first-class matches. Along with two hundreds and thirteen fifties, he has amassed 1525 runs at 41.21 in 47 innings. He participated in the India A tour of Australia prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, when he took one wicket and scored 44 runs in one game.
When it comes to the India Test lineup, Kotian and Manav Suthar, a 22-year-old left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder from Rajasthan, are seen as the next in line; Saurabh Kumar, 31, of Uttar Pradesh, may have lost ground.