Ravichandran Ashwin (PTI Image)
Ravichandran Ashwin strongly dismissed the growing chatter about India fielding two separate T20I teams, stressing that India’s cap must retain its value and cannot be handed out casually. He speaks on his show Ash ki baatAshwin addressed reports that India could split teams due to overlapping commitments – particularly the T20I series against the West Indies cricket team (October 6-17) and the Asian Games (September 19 to October 6). The idea of fielding a second-string team, which is likely to consist of emerging IPL names like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, did not appeal to the veteran. “So what is the value of an India cap? What respect will it get? You need a moment of pride to wear an India cap. Why play cricket? Because you represent so much of the Indian public, and they are watching, and everyone is praising our cricket, and you want to make your debut in front of your fans and play all formats. All of this definitely plays on the mind. It happens a lot now that people are making their debut at one place or the other, and people forget that,” Ashwin said. Instead, he called for strengthening India’s talent pipeline without diluting the prestige of the first team. “There has to be value to the India cap. If you want to expose them, send them on India A tours. You can’t distribute India matches that way. Broadcast India A tours as well, people will watch it and enjoy it. But you can’t just hand out India caps for free. It has to be of value,” he added.
Despite the long-term focus shifting towards the 2027 Cricket World Cup, India’s post-IPL schedule is still packed with T20 cricket. The international season begins with a one-off Test and three ODI matches against the Afghanistan national cricket team from 6 to 20 June. This will be followed by a short trip to Ireland for two T20Is from June 26-28, before a full tour of England featuring five T20Is from July 1-11 and a subsequent three-match ODI series. India will next head to Zimbabwe for a three-match T20I series from July 23-26. Later in the year, it hosts the West Indies cricket team for three ODIs followed by five T20Is between October 6 and 17. The year concludes with a home series against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team, in which India will play three ODIs and three T20Is from December 13-27, rounding off a busy white-ball calendar.