“There is no place for him” – R Ashwin’s blunt remark on in-form batter ahead of NZ vs IND 2026 ODI series

Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin made a blunt remark on picking in-form batter Ishan Kishan for the ODIs. The Men in Blue will take on New Zealand in a five-match ODI series beginning Wednesday, November 4.

Ashwin reflected that India had a settled batting order with openers Rohit Sharma and skipper Shubman Gill, followed by Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and the all-rounders. Despite his brilliant form, he reckoned that there was no place for Ishan Kishan at the moment.

“Where will he play? Unless you need a left-hander. Even then. The top three are settled. Shreyas plays at four. Shreyas or Gaikwad. There is KL. Then you will need an all-rounder. So there is no place for him, really. In the last 18 months, the way he has performed, he has been the cricketer of the country. No doubt. But in whose place will he play? There is a problem of plenty,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat‘.

Ashwin went on to explain how every player could not be accommodated in the team at once. He stated how removing a certain player to fit another in could affect performance and team culture. Further, he added that it could cause insecurity among other players in the team as well.

“From the outside, we want to see many players in the team and talk about favoritism and a lot of other things. But it is not like that. The point is that the player will also have to keep that mentality to keep the environment of the team stuck together. If I remove Player A after two matches because Player X is doing very well and everyone wants him in, then I drop A and bring X in, and X does not perform, do I play A or X? Then both players will be disturbed, and they cannot perform well. Other players will also look at this and think it can happen to them.”

It remains to be seen how India could fit Ishan Kishan into the ODI playing XI in the future and whether he is in their 50-over plans or not.

R Ashwin’s huge remark on veteran India pacer’s future

In the same video, Ravichandran Ashwin also made a huge remark on the future of veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in international cricket. Bhuvneshwar’s comeback was not ideal as the pacer struggled to create enough impact.

Ashwin reckoned that the India chapter might well be over for the pacer. He also highlighted key differences in his bowling in the last two IPL seasons and in the T20I series against New Zealand.

“I saw a huge difference in the way he bowled in the IPL and in international cricket. I think that chapter is closed. It is very tough now. How will he play again? I do not see that happening. If you are a new or young player, you will get ten chances, and they will think again. But you are experienced and making a comeback. Forget the performance. The way he bowled in the IPL, that intensity, here his run-up speed was also less, and his bowling speed was also slow. Maybe he was not in prime form. So, of course, the selectors will think,” he explained.

In four games, Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave away 180 runs at an economy rate of 11.25. He managed to pick up just one wicket, apart from being expensive.

Edited by Rishab Vm