India vs West Indies 2023: Amid criticism, Ashwin defends decision to rest Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (WATCH)

Frustrated by the overreaction of certain Indian fans and experts, Ravichandran Ashwin has come forward to defend the management's decision to rest Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during the ODI series against West Indies. The veteran off-spinner expressed his disappointment with the public sentiment, emphasizing that some individuals are too quick to blame coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit without considering the squad's current injury situation.

Ashwin addressed the social media trend following India's loss in the second ODI, where people questioned the selection of certain players and the absence of key figures like Rohit and Kohli. He found it puzzling that such outrage ensued when it was evident that both players didn't participate in the match. He also pointed out that in the first ODI, Rohit batted lower down the order, fueling debates about their potential inclusion.

"India lost the second ODI and immediately the trend in social media was - why so-and-so players played and why so-and-so players did not play. I seriously don't understand why this outrage. Rohit and Virat didn't play in the second ODI. Even in the first match, Rohit batted lower down the order. So the debate was around whether Rohit and Virat should have played," Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.

The off-spinner shed light on the heightened expectations fans have for the Indian team, often expecting them to win every game they play. He highlighted the misconception that India's sole purpose in international cricket is to win the World Cup, attributing such pressure to the success and popularity of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Some of them were perplexed at how we lost to a team that didn't even qualify for the World Cup. Many people think that India's only job in international cricket is to win World Cup. The main reason why we consider ourselves favorites to win the World Cup is because of the IPL," the 36-year-old spinner went on to add.

Regarding the absence of players like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul due to ongoing rehabilitation, Ashwin saw the logic in resting Rohit and Kohli, given the multitude of injuries plaguing the squad. He dismissed the idea of blaming Dravid and Rohit unnecessarily, especially when numerous players were recovering at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). With Jasprit Bumrah set to return after a long hiatus and Prasidh Krishna also back, India faced a myriad of injury issues.

"Already we have so many players recovering at the NCA. Bumrah is back after a long hiatus. Prasidh Krishna is back too. So, we have so many injury problems. It seems like people are finding points to blame Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma just for the sake of it," Ashwin added.

"They are trying different players now because they know what they went through during the last T20 World Cup. We didn't have Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah and we didn't have many fast bowlers. That's why we are trying different options before the ODI World Cup," the off-spinner stated while defending Dravid and Rohit.