R Ashwin claimed that India have a serious advantage heading into the final match of the series against England after the Gautam Gambhir and Oval pitch curator spat on Tuesday, July 29. Gambhir and Lee Fortis were involved in a heated argument after the and asked them to keep a distance from the pitch.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that this isn’t how you want to play against the Indian team as they have the character to strike back amidst adversity. The former spinner said that the Indian team become a different side when they’re riled up and this wasn’t the way they should have been triggered ahead of the Oval Test.
“After all that, when I saw the video of that fight today, I am thinking, ‘Boss, what are you guys doing?’ This is not how you want to play against this Indian team. I have always seen that when adversity strikes the Indian team, however it may be, someone will rise up. When things are not going right, or when we are pushed against the wall, the Indian team is a different kettle of fish; it becomes a different beast.”
“I think that particular thing, going into this Test match, is a serious advantage for India. Maybe this will mean nothing if England play good cricket and India don’t end up on the right side, but somehow I have a feeling that this is not the way it has to be triggered,” said Ashwin.
‘These incidents galvanize the team’
Ashwin pointed out several incidents in India’s cricket history, like the monkeygate incident, where the team bounced back brilliantly and secured big wins. The former spinner feels that ahead of the crucial match.
“When such an incident occurs, those sleeping beasts, the individually brilliant players, will come together. I have seen that many times. You look at any kind of adversity. When that Monkeygate incident happened, you saw how we played in the next Test. Look at what happened at the Gabba, look at what happened at the Lord’s, where Virat said, ’60 overs of hell’. It galvanizes the team,” said Ashwin.