'Sabko chance melega bhai?' - Fans react as Dinesh Karthik says veteran spinner deserves to captain India once

Dinesh Karthik (Source: Twitter)

Veteran Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik believes that Ravichandran Ashwin deserves to captain the national side at least once in his career. Despite being a key member of India over the years across formats, Ashwin has never captained India. Karthik's opinion comes in light of the upcoming Asian games.

The Indian Cricket Board will most likely send a second-string team to the Asian games, which will be held from September 23 to October 8. The tournament will clash with the 2023 ODI World Cup, which will take place from October 5 to November 9. With spin all-rounder Ashwin no longer a key choice in ODI cricket, Karthik urges the board to appoint Ashwin as the captain of the India B team for the Asian Games.

"Ashwin is arguably one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game. I think he deserves to captain India once, I genuinely believe that he has earned the right to be a captain of Team India," said Karthik, who last played for India at the 2022 T20 World Cup.

"I think Indian team will be sending the B team for Asian games, if Ashwin is not part of the ODI setup then I genuinely hope the Indian Cricket Board makes Ashwin the captain in the Asian Games, especially what he has done for India over the years," he added.

Ashwin captained Punjab Kings in the IPL

Ashwin played his last ODI against South Africa at Paarl in January 2022. Notably, the 36-year-old led the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where the franchise won 12 out of 28 games with a win percentage of 42.85. He is also currently leading Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2023.

Ashwin is now a member of just India's Test team, and his next appearance will be in the two-Test series in the West Indies, which begins on July 12. He has taken more than 470 wickets and has scored over 3000 runs in the longest format of the game.

Here's how fans reacted to Dinesh Karthik's comment on R Ashwin being named India's captain at the Asian Games:

Sab players ko ek ek match ke liye captaincy dedo😂

— Uddipta Saikia ❁ (@Udddipta) July 1, 2023

Sabko chamce melega?🥹🥹

— ᴀᴅᴀᴍ🚩 (@achabaiii) July 1, 2023

Absolutely right . At least for a series against a visiting team .

— Akshay Pradhan🇮🇳 (@AkshayModern) July 1, 2023

Yup he deserves more than one series wonder Rohir

— nuktacheeni (@nuktacheenii) July 1, 2023

Ashwin should be captain of team India's test squad

— Siddharth🇮🇳🇮🇱 (@tweet_iamsid) July 1, 2023

I am saying this since long. He is not only a great bowler but also a sharp cricket brain.

— Barkha Joshi (@bindasbarkha) July 1, 2023

He could end up as the best captain who couldn't captain ..like Shane Warne.

— movieman (@movieman777) July 1, 2023

If not captain, at least a VC of the test team for sure.

— thelogical_Indian (@tlogical_Indian) July 1, 2023