'Hello! Pick me': Sunil Gavaskar backs RR star to be part of Team India squad for T20 World Cup
Sunil Gavaskar backs RR star to be part of Team India squad for T20 WC (Photo - IPL)
Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) have joined the IPL 2022 playoffs for the first time since2018 edition. While many players have stood tall for the one-time winners, R Ashwin's inclusion and the out-of-the-box usage of the star player from the team management has helped the RR franchise extensively in the 15th season.
Ashwin has not only bowled some tidy spells, picked up crucial wickets from time to time but the 35-year-old has become a vital cog of Samson & Co. by virtue of his cameos and overall contributions with the bat. In 14 games, 183 runs with a fifty -- his maiden IPL half-century -- and a match-finishing 40 not out in a moderate run-chase versus defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) recently.
Thus, Ashwin is having a ball in IPL 2022 and looks set to continue in a similar stead for the inaugural champions in the playoffs. Ahead of the knockouts, Little Master Sunil Gavaskar has backed the all-rounder Ashwin to feature in India's T20 World Cup squad later this year. For the unversed, he was also a part of India's scheme of things in last year's T20 WC. Back then, he had staged a combeack in limited-overs after a four-year hiatus based on his impressive run in IPL 2021.
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"And he also knows that he is a batsman who has got five Test hundreds. So he can bat, he knows that. He has now shown that he can do it in the ultra-short format and be in the Indian team for the World Cup in Australia. That is his aim and that is why he is so excited about his own batting performance. He's showing with the ball and with the bat that ‘Hello! Pick me’," Gavaskar added.