Ashwin specifically questioned why Rinku Singh was dropped at number eight. According to him, if the team has so many batters, it is a tactical mistake to send a skilled finisher like Rinku so low. He felt that dropping Rinku to number five would have changed the situation of the match and the team would have been able to handle the pressure.

He also said that although Washington is a good player, experience was not considered important enough in the decision to prioritize him. Especially when an experienced all-rounder like Akshar Patel was not in the team, creating new equations in pressure matches became risky. The Indian team suffered as a result.

According to Ashwin, opponents South Africa played with a plan from the start and managed to put India under pressure. He warned that in future, more teams may adopt the same strategy and look to force India to chase runs. Therefore, to move forward, the strategy must be more realistic.

This defeat made India’s path to the semi-finals difficult. Now the remaining matches should not only be won but also by a good margin so that the net run rate improves. According to Ashwin, the team can only bounce back if they learn quickly from mistakes and change plans.