R Ashwin slams critics for questioning Rohit Sharma's decision on Suryakumar in 3rd ODI

India's defeat in the recently culminated ODI series against Australia is yet to simmer down among the fans, according to them, Suryakumar Yadav's failure was one of the biggest reasons India lost. While SKY is enduring criticism from the left, right, and center the naysayers have also targetted captain Rohit Shama have criticised Rohit Sharma for demoting him in the batting order in the 3rd ODI. R Ashwin, who often lays out his views via his Youtube channel, has used the medium once again to slam the critics for questioning Sharma's decision.

Addressing viewers on YouTube, Ashwin brought in the subject of Shreyas Iyer's injury and commented on Suryakumar Yadav's "interesting series".

"Shreyas Iyer's injury meant we did not have a stable No.4 in the Australia series. His injury opened up opportunities for Suryakumar Yadav. He had an interesting series, he played three balls and got three ducks. Immediately there are so many questions on whether he should play ODI cricket, blah blah blah. Since India lost, these questions multiplied. There is not too much to read into it.

Ashwin added that India is always expected to win and thus when they lose, harsh criticism ensues.

"There is almost a compulsion that India should always win. There is an opinion that India is the strongest team. We are a strong team, no doubt about that but somewhere down the line, we assume ourselves to be invincible. So the feedback coming from the public sometimes can be harsh. Even experts are very harsh with their criticisms these days.

"It will not give any balance to the cricketer or the management. When we won the 2011 World Cup, the stability we had in the team was the main reason. I feel we ourselves are bringing the stability down. Experts should know what is a valid time. They have played the game so they would know," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

'Intent was right': R Ashwin

Following that Ashwin defended the decision of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid of shuffling the batting order and sending Axar Patel ahead of Suryakumar Yadav.

"Surya came down the order, Axar was promoted and KL Rahul batted at No.4, that was the talking point of the game. Please look at Australia's batting order consistently. When Maxwell returns that's how they will use them as well. Because they are players who can create impact. Suryakumar Yadav is also one such player. He plays spin really well. Australia won that's why it didn't become a talking point but Marnus Labuschagne who bats at No.4 had to bat at No.5 because of David Warner. If they had lost the game, these questions would have been asked. It's decided based on the situation of the game, it's a hunch call.
"Why did they promote Axar? If they promoted Axar and he negated Zampa and Agar by taking them for 35 or 50 runs in 10 overs then the game was in India's bag. So the intent was right but the run-out happened. The outcome wasn't right," Ashwin added.