Dinesh Karthik backs Ravichandran Ashwin to lead India at 2023 Asian Games

Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin (Pic: AFP)

Veteran India wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik on Saturday backed ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to lead the India 'B' side at the 2023 Asian Games in China, scheduled to be played from September 23 to October 8.

This will be the first time that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has agreed to send both men's and women's teams to the tournament. The Men in Blue will also begin its ICC ODI World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.

"(Ravichandran) Ashwin is arguably one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game. I think he deserves to captain India once, I genuinely believe that he has earned the right to be a captain of Team India," Karthik told PTI.

Heaping praise on the second-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests, Karthik said that Ashwin deserves to lead India at least once in his career, adding that he is one of the greatest cricketers ever to play cricket and captaining Team India will be a feather in his hat.

Ashwin is currently only part of India's Test squad. The 36-year-old played his last ODI against South Africa at Paarl in January 2022.

It is noteworthy that Ashwin has led the IPL franchise Punjab Kings where the side won 12 out of 28 games at a win percentage of 42.85. On the professional front, Ashwin has scalped 697 wickets in 270 international matches. The right-handed batter has also smashed over 3000 runs in Tests, including five centuries.

Ashwin last played for Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). He scalped four wickets in as many games. He will next be seen in action during the two-Test series in West Indies, which starts on July 12.

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