Kohli hails Ashwin the ‘all-rounder’

Ravichandran Ashwin can play the all-rounder’s role in any condition, India Test team captain Virat Kohli said on Monday after being impressed by the 35-yearold’s consistency with both bat and ball in recent years.

Kohli added that Ashwin has filled the void, which has been left by the injured Ravindra Jadeja, in an outstanding manner. “Everyone understands Jadeja’s value and what he has done for the team, but I think Ash (Ashwin) has been playing that role pretty well for us,” said Kohli on the eve of the third Test against South Africa.

“Ash (Ashwin) knows that his game has grown by leaps and bounds, especially bowling overseas. He has a good understanding, from the Australia [Test] series [in 2020-21] onwards,” Kohli went on to add at the press conference. Ashwin scored a crucial 46 runs off just 50 balls in the first innings of the second South Africa Test in Johannesburg, but could pick only one wicket during the course of the match that the tourist lost.

“If you look at his batting contribution in the last Test and the way he bowled in the second innings, I think it was outstanding. He is in a very comfortable space, where is willing to contribute to the team. He is doing so with the right intention, in the right way,” Kohli said.

Kohli will return to the eleven for the series-deciding Test as he is “absolutely fit”, but ruled out the participation of pacer Mohammed Siraj. Kohli had missed the previous match due to an upper back spasm while Siraj suffered a hamstring problem in the last fixture.