Dinesh Karthik reveals readymade replacement for aging Ravichandran Ashwin

Former Indian cricket star Dinesh Karthik recently sat down with CRICBUZZ to name his pick for the replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin. The star named young Washington Sundar as the player who could replace the veteran Indian spin bowler in the long run. 

Speaking to CRICBUZZ, Dinesh Karthik said, “India are definitely looking for a next-gen off-spinner, as in the last India ‘A’ series against the England Lions, they tried three off-spinners in three matches: Pulkit Narang, Washington Sundar, and Saransh Jain.”

Washington Sundar has come back to form and put in good performances during the recent tour of Sri Lanka. The 24-year-old hasn’t played a Test match since 2021 against England in Ahmedabad. 

Washington Sundar ready to replace Ravichandran Ashwin?

Further during his chat with CRICBUZZ, Dinesh Karthik said, “They are trying out, and Washington Sundar is the front-runner behind Ravichandran Ashwin right now. He’s done well in whatever limited opportunities he’s got, and I feel he will get his due first before going to anybody else.”

Ravichandran Ashwin is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket with 517 wickets. The veteran spinner will be getting ready to feature in the home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand over the next few months. The biggest Test for Ashwin will be the tour of Australia which begins in November. 

During his conversation with CRICBUZZ, Karthik made a huge statement about Jasprit Bumrah. The former Indian star had said, “For a fast bowler like Bumrah, his fitness needs to be monitored and he needs to be protected as a player and only made to play in important matches.”

“I keep saying this about Bumrah, he is like a Kohinoor diamond, we got to protect him, take care of him, make sure that he lasts as long as possible because whenever Bumrah plays in any format he makes an impact and that's what we want,” added Dinesh Karthik. 

The former IPL star ended by saying “Everything right ... He is calm cool, good maturity but he is a fast bowler so how can we play him for all three formats that is the biggest question the selectors would have had”