Sourav Ganguly says Virat Kohli 'wanted' Indian spinner in T20 WC squad; 'I wasn’t sure'

President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly has spoken about R Ashwin's return to India's white-ball set up. Ganguly said he wasn’t sure if Ravichandran Ashwin would be part of Team India’s white-ball set-up again with the player not having played white-ball cricket for the country for four years (since 2017).

Speaking about R Ashwin's surprise inclusion for the T20 World cup, Sourav Ganguly revealed that Virat Kohli insisted that the Indian off-spinner be included in the squad for the T20 World Cup. The BCCI president further went on praise the player for making the most of the given opportunity

Speaking on a chat show ‘Backstage with Boria’, Sourav Ganguly said, “I wasn’t sure whether he would be part of the white-ball team again. But then Virat Kohli wanted him to be part of the World Cup. And, whatever little bit of opportunity he got, I thought he was superb.”

R Ashwin picked up six wickets in three matches during the T20 World Cup and continued his good form during the recently concluded T20Is against New Zealand.

The player has also been an integral part of the Test set-up and recently in the series against New Zealand, went past Harbhajan Singh to become India's third-leading wicket-taker in the longest format of the game.

Praising the player, the BCCI president said "Everybody speaks about him. Look at Rahul Dravid’s statement after the (Kanpur) Test match - he called him an all-time great. You don’t need rocket science to judge Ashwin’s talent. My appreciation just comes from what I see. It may be Ashwin, it may be (Shreyas) Iyer, it may be Rohit (Sharma), it may be Virat (Kohli).”

Sourav Ganguly: 'It does not need me to say Ravichandran Ashwin is exceptional'

The former Indian skipper further went on to add that Ashwin's records and performances speak for themselves and that such players cannot be ignored. "Look at his Test record, it is phenomenal. It does not need me to say Ravichandran Ashwin is exceptional. His record and his performances show it. And you can’t ignore such players. You cannot just turn your eyes and say that he’s gone. I am not surprised with what he is doing," he concluded. 

(Image: PTI)