'I'll Badmouth Him All Day, All Night': R Ashwin's Hilarious Swipe at Jadeja Possibly Making the Cut Over Him for BGT

Superlatives fail to encapsulate the sustained greatness of Ravichandran Ashwin, as the off-spinner picked up yet another Player of the Series award for his stellar showing in the Bangladesh series.

The legendary off-spinner broke a plethore of records en route to the same, becoming the leading wicket-taker in the current WTC cycle, the first bowler to take 50 wickets in all three WTC editions so far and the Indian bowler with the most wickets in Asia as well.

All of his brilliance culminated in Ashwin adding another feather to his cap, in the form of a record-tying Player of the Series award, his 11th over his career which helped him draw level with Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan.

Now, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy nearing, and with India looking likely to deploy just one spinner in the Playing XI due to the conditions ‘down under’, a much-heated question arises: who will India opt for? Jadeja or Ashwin?

Well, we know what Ashwin thinks of the same now, as the Chennai-born off-spinner shared his views in a post-match press conference after India’s win against Bangladesh.

“It’s very simple for me. If he plays, I’ll badmouth him all day, all night,” joked Ashwin with a sheepish smile and chuckle.

“It used to bother me at one point of time, I won’t lie. Because we all want to play. But, it doesn’t anymore because the larger goal is at the forefront of my mind.”

Anyone who knows the game of cricket would rightfully do what Ashwin does, as Jadeja has undoubtedly proven himself to be one of the best all-rounders in the game.

No need to take anyone’s word for it, the stats speak for themselves.

With his scalp of Khaled Ahmed on Monday, Jadeja joined former Indian captain Kapil Dev and legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in an elite list, becoming the third Indian cricketer in history to score 3000 runs and take 300 wickets in Tests.

So for Ashwin, it is a no-brainer if India opt to play Jadeja against Australia ahead of him.

“He’s the second left-arm spinner with 300 wickets, and I think he’s got 3000 runs as well. These are no mean feats,” exclaimed Ashwin.

“If he’s the one that has to play, he’s the one that has to play and I have complete faith in him. I’ve got his back when he goes out there.”