Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has hailed Australia batter Tim David for his solid batting form in 2025. David, in T20 Internationals (T20I), has done a phenomenal job as a middle-order batter for the
Aussie side recently. In the ongoing three-match T20 International (T20I) series against South Africa, he has notched up two fifties, thus far. Riding on his brilliant 83 off 52, Australia bagged a 17-run win against the Proteas in the first T20I played in Darwin. The home side faced a 53-run hammering at the hands of the Aussie side in the second contest but David came heavily on the bowlers again. This time, the 29-year-old Aussie racked up a quick 50 off 24.
Noting Tim David’s magnificent form, Ashwin has showered praise on him. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) veteran also recalled an incident when he advised some franchises to buy David in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction but the teams ignored his advice. "I told the decision makers of a few IPL teams to pick him before the last auction. They all said, 'No, his game has dropped off drastically'," said Ashwin.
The ex-India spinner also appreciated Australia for sending David early in the matches. "I believe the future of T20 cricket is going to be having tall batters with long levers and strong build. They are going to rule the roost if there are no changes brought to the wide line. A player RCB picked up at base price (INR 3 crore) has taken his game to the next level. It's good to see Australia sending him up the order. A real steal for RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)," added Ashwin.
Watch the video here:
Tim David’s performance in IPL 2025 for RCB
Returning to RCB after four years, Tim David looked in brilliant touch with his bat. As a finisher, the right-handed batter appeared in 12 matches and accumulated 187 runs in nine innings at a breathtaking strike rate of 185.14. However, he couldn’t show up for RCB in playoff games after picking up a hamstring injury in the league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
With the T20 World Cup 2026 scheduled to happen in India and Sri Lanka in February-March, Australiawill want David to continue his excellent batting form to help them win their second title. Australia won their last and only T20 World Cup title in 2021, under Aaron Finch’s captaincy.