R Ashwin credits MS Dhoni for creating 'sense of security' in Team India after WTC final snub

R Ashwin's omission from India's playing XI for the recently-held WTC final versus Australia created a huge stir on social media platforms and within the cricketing fraternity. As a result, India finished second by a huge margin, losing the coveted Test mace to Australia by 209 runs at The Oval, London.

With India missing out on winning yet another ICC title, since 2013, fans showed their frustration on the Indian players and called for the omission of some senior members. Recently, Ashwin reacted to Indian fans' outbursts while mentioning about MS Dhoni's leadership and the success India achieved under him.

On his Youtube channel, Ashwin began by congratulating Australia and said,"Congratulations Australia! It was a fantastic final and they completely deserve the win. There was a small advantage although as few players like Marnus Labuschagne played a couple of matches in county cricket. That was a small one because in a one-Test shootout you can't really say who will do what, but they thoroughly deserved it. Even in the last WTC cycle, they missed qualifying for the finals only by a whisker. They have been a consistent Test team like India."

'Under MS Dhoni,same squad of 15 and the XI will play throughput the year'

The veteran off-spinner highlighted Dhoni's significance as a leader and mentioned an important aspect. “It is understandable that there's a furore in India that we haven't won an ICC trophy in 10 years. I empathise with the fans. But the reaction on social media is that this player should be dropped and that player should be included. But quality of a player doesn't change overnight. Lot of us talk about MS Dhoni's leadership. What did he do? Ge kept it very simple. Under his regime, where I also played, he will pick a squad of 15. The same squad of 15 and the XI will play throughput the year. That sense of security is very important for a player,” Ashwin pointed out.

Under Dhoni, India won all ICC titles along with winning the Test mace.

This is not the first time when Ashwin emphasisedon the need for sense of security among players within the dressing room. Soon after he returned to the country after WTC final snub, Ashwin talked about the "overthinker" name tag attached to him and reasoned outthat it wasnatural for him to be "traumatised" and "overthink" knowing he has limited chances compared to a player assured of a longer run.

Inan interaction with Indian Express, the 36-year-old Ashwin stated,"A lot of people marketed me and positioned me that I am an overthinker. A person who will get 15-20 matches on the go doesn’t have to be mentally overthinking. A person who knows that they will get only two games will be traumatised and will be overthinking because it’s my job. It’s my journey. So this is what suits me. If somebody is going to tell me, ‘you’re going to play 15 matches, you will be looked after, you will be this, you are responsible for players, you are in the leadership role, I won’t be overthinking. Why would I?"

Ashwin will now gear up for India's two-match Test series versus hosts West Indies, which will kick off Rohit & Co.'s run in WTC 2023-25 cycle, starting on July 12.

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