Ashwin is among the four spinners in Team India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. The slender off-spinner put himself in the blend for a spot in the beginning setup against Pakistan with a superb exhibition against Australia in the second warm-up experience.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was inquired as to whether he sees R Ashwin playing in front of Varun Chakravarthy thinking about his extraordinary exhibition against the Aussies. He reacted:
"Ashwin has done well but IPL was a huge sample size and there was nothing there, there were no wickets. Honestly speaking, you are looking for wickets. It is not how economical you can be."
The former India cricketer added that teams need an attacking spinner in the middle overs. Chopra reasoned:"We need wickets if you bowl in the middle overs so that you put a halt on the match there itself because if there is a set batsman and even if you have kept them under control, 70 runs can be scored off the last five overs."
"Pakistan will play off-spin well for sure" - Aakash Chopra on the things that go against R Ashwin
Aakash Chopra believes R Ashwin cannot play ahead of Varun Chakravarthy in the T20 World Cup 2021 encounter against Pakistan as Team India need to go for a wicket-taking option.
"You definitely want to go with an experienced player in a big encounter because he will absorb the pressure but the opposing team plays spin very well. They will play off-spin well for sure. All balls will be coming in, there is only Fakhar Zaman against whom you can take the ball away and that too if Ashwin bowls off-spin."
The 44-year-old concluded by naming Varun Chakravarthy or Rahul Chahar as his second spin-bowling option alongside Ravindra Jadeja. Chopra said: "Either I am picking Varun Chakravarthy or Rahul Chahar in my team. If Varun Chakravarthy is fit, he is my first choice spinner along with Ravindra Jadeja but if he is not fit, I will surely think about Rahul Chahar."