Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come in defence of the newest format of cricket, The Hundred. England and Wales Cricket Board’s pet project, The Hundred, has attracted severe criticism ever since the tournament was announced. The first season of the brand new tournament kick-started in England last week and has managed to grab the eyeballs of cricket fans. It has also managed to attract the spectators in the stadium. However, despite all the success, many veteran cricketers are still not in favour of the league.
Recently, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has called the tournament “average cricket.” Gavaskar went a step further and also called out the broadcaster, saying The Hundred’s coverage is “basic.”
Now in a new development, India’s spin wizard Ashwin wants fans to watch the tournament and then decided if they like it or not. Ashwin also said that just like criticizing a film without having the theatre experience is “irrelevant”, it is wrong to judge the tournament without watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TeO8eIsSGo
Ashwin also took a swipe at the critique of the tournament, saying that “those who did not understand this format commented vaguely about frequent changes in rules and formats.”
He further stressed that people are not in favour of the format because “innovation” is often not encouraged and most of us have this tendency of misunderstanding everything new at first.
Ashwin also said that sometimes we should give credit and appreciation to people trying something new.
The spinner is also in awe of the quality of women’s games in The Hundred. He also said that the women’s game is here to stay. He also revealed that he thoroughly enjoyed “a women’s game between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals.”
Speaking about the women’s version of the Indian Premier League, Ashwin said, “I would be glad if women’s IPL is all set to happen.”
At present, Ashwin is in the United Kingdom for the five-match Test series against England.
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