IND vs SA 2025: 'Why was he picked?' - R Ashwin slams India's team selection after 1st ODI

Ravichandran Ashwin was surprised to see Nitish Kumar Reddy not picked in the playing XI for the first ODI between India and South Africa at the JSCA International Sports Complex on Sunday, November 30.

India played with two spin-bowling all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in the high-scoring encounter. Rishabh Pant, Tilak Varma, Dhruv Jurel, and Reddy were the four players who had to watch the action from the sidelines.

Ashwin questioned the Indian team management why they kept Reddy outside the playing XI even in the absence of senior seam-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya. The former India spinner feels that if Reddy can't get a game even when Hardik isn't in the line-up, then the selectors might have picked somebody else in the 15-man squad.

"If we are not able to find a place for Nitish Kumar Reddy in a team that does not have Hardik Pandya, then there is something wrong in the squad selection, seriously. Why was he picked? Because the fact is that he can give what Hardik can give, and can get better over a period of time. But if we can't find a place for Nitish Kumar Reddy in this particular XI, then the squad selection must be properly reviewed," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin feels that former head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma deserve a lot of credit for India's new approach of playing aggressive cricket in white-ball formats. The 39-year-old said that Rohit showed the way to his fellow players when he was the captain by playing an attacking brand of cricket from the outset.

"Rohit as a captain has always been laying his stamp by showing the team what he wants from it. The transitional batting that India has gone through in T20 cricket and ODI cricket-the way we bat fast-a lot of credit for that goes to Rohit and Rahul bhai. They showed the way. Rahul bhai said this is how we have to play, and Rohit showed the way, paved the way, and eventually it has changed the way India perceived batting. Batting is not average; it is purely strike rate in white-ball cricket," he added.

Enjoy whatever they are doing: R Ashwin on Kohli, Rohit

Ashwin also requested cricket enthusiasts to enjoy watching Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's batting instead of scrutinising them in the twilight phase of their careers. 

"I will say one thing: however much time we have to watch and enjoy Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bat, please let's do it because once they are done, we could hear talks like 'Oh, what a player he was! Please bring him back.' That doesn't cut ice for me," Ashwin said.

"For however long they play, let us celebrate them as long as they are playing. As I said, life moves on very fast. Time does not wait for anyone. It is very important that we realise that the time is less. So it is better that we enjoy whatever they are doing," he added.

Rohit scored a fantastic half-century (57 off 51 balls) in the first ODI. However, Kohli stole the show with a brilliant 135 off 120 deliveries. India won the match by 17 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.