Rohit Sharma looks at Ashwin as a match-winner: Saba Karim

Former cricketer Saba Karim weighed in on Ravichandran Ashwin’s return to India’s ODI squad.

“I think Rohit Sharma looks at Ravichandran Ashwin as a match-winner and he’s very clear in the kind of approach he wants to portray in white ball cricket. Now with the World Cup coming up, he understands the dynamics of one-day cricket quite well and knows that he has to pick players who have that kind of an attacking mindset,” Karim told JioCinema.

“He also knows that in his bowling lineup, he needs to have out of six, at least five wicket-taking options and if he has Ashwin in the eleven, then that attacking option is available. If you look at all the other players who are in the reserve – they all have that attacking mindset. So, I think Rohit Sharma wants to continue with this aggressive approach that we saw the Indian team play in the Asian challenge.”

Karim further spoke about Shreyas Iyer's selection in the squad as well. 

“I am glad that they are persisting with Shreyas Iyer. It really shows that the team management and selectors trust him so much. And Shreyas has played a very vital role in the one-day setup. So, I am happy to see that they are backing him right till they announce the World Cup side. 

“I don’t think there should be any issue with him being part of the side if he's fit, even if he does not score runs in these two or three games – it does not matter. You need to back players who have done well for you in the past and they in any case get three ODI games here plus the two practice matches. The kind of player Shreyas Iyer is – I am pretty excited for him to get back into the fold and score runs at the right time for the Indian side.”