India’s approach to one-day cricket has gone through a quiet but powerful transformation over the last few years and Ravichandran Ashwin believes two people deserve major credit for it.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said the shift toward faster, bolder batting was not accidental and began taking shape around 2022. According to him, former captain Rohit Sharma and the then-coach Rahul Dravid worked together to change the way India thought about scoring runs, moving the team away from simply building averages and toward valuing strike rate as the true measure of impact in white-ball cricket.
Ashwin explained that Rahul Dravid brought a clear belief that modern ODI batting needed to be more aggressive and Rohit Sharma reinforced that message every time he walked out to open the innings. This change reached its peak during the 2023 World Cup, where Rohit set the tone by batting with remarkable freedom.
He finished the tournament with nearly 600 runs at a strike rate close to 126, consistently giving India fiery starts that allowed the batters who followed, like Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, to control the middle overs with calm, experience and intelligence. Combined with India’s sharp bowling attack, the plan looked close to perfect until it failed in the final.
Despite the progress, India’s ODI setup now sits in an uncomfortable place. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are still performing brilliantly but there is uncertainty over whether they can continue until the 2027 World Cup. With only a limited number of ODIs left before that event, the team is caught between leaning on its senior players and providing younger cricketers with the experience they need before the next big tournament. Ashwin pointed out that this hesitation could hurt India later, especially as other teams use this period to invest in new talent.
The current series in South Africa has highlighted just how fragile the balance is. Injuries to Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya have forced India to experiment with an unfamiliar middle order. Ruturaj Gaikwad, usually an opener, found himself at number four, while Washington Sundar came in at five and KL Rahul shifted to a more demanding role at six. Ashwin said these adjustments show how thin the squad becomes when key players are missing.
He also questioned the logic behind some of the selections. One of his biggest concerns was the absence of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the playing XI despite being chosen as a potential all-round option, especially when Hardik Pandya is unavailable. Ashwin felt that Nitish Kumar Reddy was selected because he brings a similar balance, someone who can contribute with both bat and ball, and that the failure to include him suggests something is off in the team’s planning. He argued that if a player picked specifically for a required role cannot find a place in a weakened side, then the entire selection process needs a serious review.
For Ashwin, the message was clear — India’s ODI evolution has been impressive but it must not stall. The foundation laid by Rohit and Dravid has changed the way the team plays, now, smart squad building and timely opportunities for emerging players will determine whether that progress continues or fades away.
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