R Ashwin is always an attacking option, has made a great comeback in white-ball cricket, says Rohit Sharma

Ravichandran Ashwin has made a “great comeback” to white-ball cricket and is an important wicket-taking option for India in the middle overs in T20 cricket, captain Rohit Sharma has said. Ashwin took three wickets in the two matches he played in the series against New Zealand.

“It has been a great comeback from him. We all know that he is a quality bowler. He has proven himself with the red ball over the years and even in white-ball cricket he doesn’t have a bad record. Now the way he has comeback and bowled in the UAE and then here just shows the quality that he has,” said Rohit.

“He is always an attacking option for a captain. When you have someone like him in the squad it is always an opportunity to take wickets in the middle (overs) and we understand how important that is. That is the phase when you can put the breaks on the scoring rate and take wickets.

“Ashwin provides that (option) alongwith Axar (Patel). Both these guys are wicket-taking options in this phase and for them it’s never about surviving. It is always about ‘how I can get the batter out or put them under pressure’. That is how they think and come up with all the time,” said Rohit.

Ashwin had not played international white-ball cricket for four years before being selected for the T20 World Cup. While India had a dismal campaign, Ashwin’s performances earned plaudits and he retained his spot in the subsequent three-match T20I series which ended with a 3-0 win for India on Sunday.