'​​It's not an ideal contest': Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's stunning Vijay Hazare knock raises questions in R Ashwin's mind

NEW DELHI: Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has raised concerns about the quality gap between teams in Indian domestic cricket after a one-sided match in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

His comments came after Bihar scored a massive 574 runs (their highest team total in men’s List A cricket) in 50 overs against Arunachal Pradesh.



Ashwin said that while big scores are impressive, such matches do not offer real competition.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin praised young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for his performance but questioned the bigger picture.

“Huge applause for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. But I again want to ask a question. There is a huge divide, chalk and cheese, in terms of quality with some teams. It becomes very lop-sided with some teams and there is no contest at all," Ashwin said.

"It is not an ideal contest. Credit to Vaibhav for his performance. He is doing what he has to do. But if we are serious about teams like Arunachal Pradesh becoming good sides, what will this do to their confidence?"

In the match, Bihar completely dominated Arunachal Pradesh.

Along with Sooryavanshi (190 off 84 balls), Ayush Loharuka (116 off 56 balls) and captain Sakibul Gani (128 off 40 balls) also scored centuries.

Ashwin also spoke about Ishan Kishan and praised his comeback journey. He said Kishan’s recent success shows the importance of hard work and patience.

“Everyone goes through good and bad times but Ishan Kishan had a challenging time. He came and then was out from the team, he took a break. He made a double hundred in one-day but never made a comeback. He scored a hundred in the IPL but then did not have a great IPL," Ashwin added.

"He played well in the SMAT and in the run of events got into the T20 World Cup squad. Now he is batting in the middle-order slot in the VHT and scored a 33-ball hundred. It shows what confidence and form can do to a person when time aligns. He has not waited saying his time will come, he has put in that effort."


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