Ravichandran Ashwin has strongly dismissed the growing chatter around India fielding two separate T20I teams, insisting that the Indian cap must retain its value and cannot be given casually. Speaking on his show. Ash’s talkAshwin addressed reports suggesting that India could split squads for overlapping commitments – notably the T20I series against the West Indies cricket team (October 6-17) and Asian Games (September 19 to October 6). The idea of fielding a second-string side, possibly made up of rising IPL names like Vibhu Suryavanshi, Priyansh Arya and Prabhasmaran Singh, did not go down well with the veteran off-spinner. “Then what is the value of the India cap? What will be the respect? You need a moment of pride to wear the India cap. Why are you playing cricket? Because you are representing so many Indian people, they are watching, everyone is appreciating our cricket, and you want to debut in front of your fans and play all formats. All this is definitely happening, where some people are thinking that it is in other people’s minds. And people It is forgotten,” said Ashwin. Instead he advocated strengthening the India A pathway to develop talent without undermining the prestige of the senior team. “There should be a value for India caps. If you want to showcase them, send them to India A Tours. You can’t just show India A Tours like that. Telecast India A Tours too, people will watch and enjoy. But you can’t distribute India caps for free. It should be valued.” Despite the long-term focus on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, India’s post-IPL schedule is packed with T20 cricket. The international season will begin with a single Test and three ODIs against the Afghanistan national cricket team from June 6 to 20. This will be followed by a short tour of Ireland for two T20Is from June 26 to 28, before a full tour of England with five T20Is between July 1 and 11 followed by a three-match ODI series. India will then travel to Zimbabwe for a three-match T20I series from July 23 to 26. Later in the year, it will host the West Indies cricket team for three ODIs followed by five T20Is between October 6 and 17. The year ends with a home series against the Sri Lankan national cricket team, where India will play three ODIs and three T20Is from December 13 to 27, rounding off a busy white-ball calendar.
