The newly appointed Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin, in a Facebook Live session, announced that Yuvraj Singh will be crucial to his team’s success in the upcoming Indian Premier League.
Yuvraj, Ashwin said will be one of the most important players in his team. Despite the southpaw’s ordinary run in T20s (he’s made 217 runs in his last 10 T20 innings at a strike rate of 96.4), Ashwin indicated that he’d make him bat high in KXIP line-up.
“I am a big admirer of Yuvi paaji,” Ashwin team mentor Virender Sehwag when the coach asked the former about captaining his senior. “For me, it’s very important for Yuvi paaji to go and entertain the fans. I’d love to see him go and hit those big shots. I am looking to give him as many overs as possible, he’ll be the best batsmen in our team.”
Ashwin discussed his captaincy debut, shift from Chennai Super Kings to KXIP and captaining senior players, including the team’s former captain Yuvraj. When Sehwag reminded of Yuvraj’s hat-tricks in the IPL 2009, Ashwin replied with a laugh, “I’d love to see the pie-chucker in him [Yuvraj]. Many batsmen, including KP [England veteran Kevin Pietersen] couldn’t play him properly and we will utilise that. He’ll be the lynchpin in our team.”
‘I always thought a bowler should be the captain’
Sehwag conceded that the team management had Yuvraj as an option for captaincy but ultimately settled for Ashwin. “Yuvraj was also there in our minds. But a lot of votes from our support staff and owners went to Ashwin,” Sehwag said, “Yuvraj is a great friend, but in cricketing matters, you keep friendships aside and we all felt Ashwin will be a great leader for us.”
“I always thought that a bowler should be made the captain because I was a big fan of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Kapil Dev. I thought a bowler would be the best candidate for our team’s captaincy,” he added.
Ashwin, meanwhile, was quoted in The Times of India that captaincy to him, after seven years of playing international cricket, was a natural progression. “I have always felt I had it in me (to be captain). WV Raman identified me as a captain when I was 21 years old. I ended up winning a few titles for TN. But for a bowler to become a captain, which is not something natural in the country, this is something fascinating,” he said.
“Being a bowler captain, I will be able to understand the bowlers and field changes. There are so many numbers and stats that can be crunched in T20s. I believe in certain amount of preparation before a match. I also believe my tactical and strategic sharpness which might stand me in good stead. I think I have got enough experience inside the dressing room to be able to fall back on to with those decisions.”
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