Can't play Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja all the time, says Ravi Shastri

New Delhi: They missed out on the limited-over series against Sri Lanka and now they have been rested for the homes series against Australia. Indian spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's exclusion from the Australia series have raised quite a few eyebrows and head coach Ravi Shastri has finally come forth to explain the reasons behind it.

It was only on Sunday that the Team India squad was announced for the first three ODIs against Australia. Ashwin and Jadeja once again were 'rested' by MSK Prasad-led selection panel.

“The team for the three ODIs against Australia has been selected in line with the rotation policy of the Board and accordingly R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested,” Prasad said in a release.

“The team’s performance during the Sri Lanka tour was outstanding and players like Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal, who performed very well, are being given an extended run and this will, in turn, supplement our approach, to build a strong reserve strength, as we prepare for forthcoming tours.”

This has raised quite some eyebrows among former Indian cricketers. In fact, in an interview to TOI, Mohammad Azharuddin said, "I can understand if both Ashwin and Jadeja are rested for the Sri Lankan series. But when India are playing against a team like Australia, your best spinners should be used. After all, you are playing at home and on wickets that suit them. They should have been given a chance to play the Australian series."

Clearing all the doubts, Ravi Shastri told India Today about the duo's exclusion from the first three matches. He said, "We can't play Ashwin and Jadeja all the time. There is enough time for Ashwin to get back into the team because the World Cup is still two years away. Emphasis has to be on Test cricket."

Virat Kohli and Shastri have long shown their fondness for wrist-spinners since Kuldeep Yadav's brilliance in the Dharamsala Test against Australia, earlier this year. Since then, the chinaman bowler has been on quite a few occasions been giving the opportunity to fill in either Ashwin or Jadeja and he has rightfully done so. An opportunity now stands for Axar and Chahal to cement their place.