'He replied beautifully': Ashwin backs Dravid's stance on Indians playing overseas leagues

Rahul Dravid's Team India crashed out on the semi-final stage of the T20 World Cup following a crushing 10-wicket loss to England. Not only questions were raised about India's performance in the semi-final but there were discussions over Indian players playing in overseas leagues were also raised.  

Moments after India's semi-final exit Rahul Dravid was also asked about Indian players taking part in the overseas league to which India's coach explained that the process could dampen the Indian domestic circuit. While Dravid's stance received criticism, Team India off-spinner R Ashwin has lashed out at the debate on this topic.

Ashwin defends Dravid's comment on Indian players playing overseas league 

Dravid while explaining why permitting Indians to play in overseas leagues is difficult, said, "I think it’s very difficult for Indian cricket because a lot of these tournaments happen right in the peak of our season. I think it’s a huge challenge for us. Yes, I think a lot of our boys maybe do miss out on the opportunities of playing in a lot of these leagues, but if you were to — it’s really up to the BCCI to make that decision." 

R Ashwin while defending Dravid's statement on his YouTube channel said, "They asked Rahul bhai in the press conference as soon as our game was over. You can't ask these questions as a reaction to losing game. It's a very unfair question to the coach of a cricket team. So what do you expect him to reply to that question? In fact he gave a very good reply to that question. He asked, "If you want Indian player to go and players these leagues what will happen to our first-class system?" We should understand that the Indian first-class system will behind from August end or by September end. It will be March when the Ranji trophy final gets over and we will have the IPL as soon as Ranji Trophy gets over."

He added, "So if we don't play our first-class cricket, our sample size of players will come down. He felt it that way and replied beautifully. It is an interesting and debatable topic. In fact, many players from other countries have come to India and returned as better players."

How was Team India's performance at T20 World Cup?

Team India, was pre-tournament favourites to lift their second T20 World Cup trophy in Australia under new skipper Rohit Sharma. The Men in Blue began their campaign with a nail-biting win against Pakistan in the final over courtesy of a fine inning from Virat Kohli. Following the victory over Pakistan, India beat the Netherlands in the second match before facing South Africa in the third match.

The Proteas handed India a crushing defeat to stop the momentum. However, in the crucial clash against Bangladesh, Team India's bowlers produced an exceptional performance to guide the team to victory from a losing position. The side ended the Super 12 stage with a dominating win over Zimbabwe. In the semifinal encounter, Team India managed to post a defending total, courtesy of gritty half-centuries from Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli. However, England skipper Jos Buttler and Alex Hales toiled with Indian bowlers to register a comfortable win for the team.