“Ravichandran Ashwin taking English wickets both on and off the field” - Wasim Jaffer trolls England

Sharing a video clip from a media conference featuring off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, former India opener Wasim Jaffer took a dig at Englishmen, who have been complaining about the Ahmedabad surface.

The pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad ended in under two days, with spinners from both sides dominating. India eventually claimed victory by 10 wickets.

Taking to Twitter, Jaffer shared a clip in which Ravichandran Ashwin is seen giving a stern response to a British journalist who questioned him about the nature of the surface. The video was shared with the caption:

“.@ashwinravi99 taking English wickets both on and off the field� #INDvsENG.”

Asked by the scribe whether he felt the pitch used for the third match was a good one, Ravichandran Ashwin countered:

"I have a question back. What is a good cricket surface?," Ashwin replied.

"I am the one asking the question... good contest between bat and ball?" the journalist responded.

To this, a visibly irritated Ravichandran Ashwin shot back:

"What makes a good surface? Who defines this? Seam on the first day and then bat well and then spin on the last two days? Come on! Who makes all these rules, we need to get over it and not talk about whatever picture you want to paint.”

Ravichandran Ashwin continued:

"If you are asking if it is a good Test surface, I don't see any of the players coming from England having an issue with the surface. They want to improve, they look like they want to have a contest. Is it the players and the people who are reporting back that want their players to not complete and complain about the pitches? Because we have never done that on any of the tours."

The journalist wasn’t done yet. He continued the pitch talk, asking:

"Hoping for a similar surface in the next Test?"

To this, the off-spinner, replied:

"It depends on what you're hoping for. We are hoping for a good cricket match."

.@ashwinravi99 taking English wickets both on and off the field😆 #INDvsENG https://t.co/BAXhZ1Wxyg

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) February 27, 2021

My tweet had nothing to with Yuvraj Singh’s views, have utmost respect for him: Ravichandran Ashwin

While most Indian cricketers have defended the Ahmedabad surface, former batsman Yuvraj Singh was among the few who expressed his disappointment at the way the Test match panned out. He tweeted:

“finished in 2 days Not sure if that’s good for test cricket !If @anilkumble1074 and @harbhajan_singh bowled on these kind of wickets they would be sitting on a thousand and 800 ? However congratulations to @akshar2026 what a spell! congratulations @ashwinravi99 @ImIshant.”

While both Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar thanked Yuvraj, the off-spinner later posted a cryptic tweet, which some claimed seemed like a response to Yuvraj. Ravichandran Ashwin, however, rubbished all such claims. He clarified:

“The reason behind my tweets was not regarding anyone in particular. When I read Yuvi paa's tweet, I did not get affected, I did not find that tweet trying to tell us something. It just felt like a plain tweet. For me, the state of mind I am in right now, I did not find it wrong.

"I know Yuvi paa for a long time, I have the utmost respect for him. Some people amongst us tend to buy what people sell, I do not know the reason why certain people try to sell certain things, but it is clear it's just a perception of what happens."

Even as India steamrolled England in the day-night Test, according to reports, the BCCI will rethink hosting day-night Tests in the future based on the feedback from Indian players.

Finally. We can always have and stand by our opinions even if it’s against the majority as long as we know that it is our own and not the one thats been sold to us! “The choice is always ours”

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 26, 2021

The fourth and final Test of the series, a day encounter, will be played in Ahmedabad from March 4.