India vs England: Team India divided over Ashwin's Southampton flop

LONDON: R Ashwin is all but ruled out of the fifth Test with a groin injury. He bowled just one delivery with no batsman in the nets on Thursday and did a few fitness drills with physio Patrick Farhat and trainer Shankar Basu, but he didn't look close to being ready for the game that starts here on Friday.
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If he doesn't take the field, it will mark a sad end to a series that started with so much promise in Birmingham.But what's more interesting is the fact that the team management seems divided about the premier offie's performance at Ageas Bowl in Southampton, where India lost by 60 runs.
While coach Ravi Shastri launched into Ashwin on Wednesday for being unable to hit the spots that Moeen Ali did, Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane came in for the press-conference on Friday and said that Ashwin had bowled "really well" in Southampton.
"Ashwin played the last Test and he bowled and fielded really well for us. Patrick will be in a better position to elaborate on his fitness situation," Rahane said after a practice session on Friday.
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This was in sharp contrast to what Shastri said, when he didn't mind taking a dig at the offie. "It was very straightforward, very simple, Moeen hit those patches that Ashwin didn't, it's as simple as that," Shastri had said of the bowler who has 327 Test wickets, which includes 11 in the series.
There was absolutely no clarity on his fitness situation as well. While it's understood that he wasn't 100% going into Ageas Bowl, Shastri had said that Ashwin was "fit". But if he was fit, there was no message from the team that explained why he suddenly stopped bowling in practice here at The Oval, which is traditionally known to help spinners. Did Ashwin aggravate an old injury that he was playing with at Ageas Bowl about which the team management was well aware of or is it a new injury that he has suffered?
Rahane's apology to bowlers
Meanwhile, Rahane said that the batting group was unable to back up the performances of the bowlers in the series. "We feel bad for our bowlers. They bowled so well and we as batting group could not support them and fell short. When you are on tour, it's the responsibility of one group to back up the other group that is doing so well," the vice-captain said.