WTC Final: Team India was defeated by Pat Cummins’ Australia by 209 runs in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final at The Oval in London. Following the loss, fans and members of the cricketing fraternity detailed the shortcomings in the system, as many were taken aback by the omission of experienced spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Similarly, former India women’s captain Anjum Chopra voiced her dissatisfaction over Ashwin’s absence from the starting XI for the critical match. Anjum emphasised that, regardless of the circumstances, the spinner cannot be ignored, especially in a high-octane match.
“Absolutely! That was absolutely my impression. In fact, (Ravichandran) Ashwin was in my starting XI. I’m not saying you can’t play four pacers; far from it; but I’ve always believed that, regardless of the conditions, if India had lost the toss and been asked to bat, we would have struggled to think, ‘Oh! ‘What should we do now?’ “I’m pretty sure the team management deliberated on the decision,” Anjum told News18.
“As a player, I would have always kept Ashwin in that lineup because I believe he is a quality bowler who can deliver regardless of the conditions.” And he’s completely isolated, just looking at his talent level and the Indian team’s records with him in the starting XI,” she continued.
Given the pitch at The Oval in the lone Test for the coveted mace, team India’s brain tank chose four specialist pacers in Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Shardul Thakur, as well as a lone spinner in Ravindra Jadeja.
Notably, Ashwin has 114 wickets in 22 Test matches against Australia, including seven five-wicket hauls, three four-fors, and one ten-wicket haul. The off-spinner is also ranked first in the ICC’s Test bowling rankings. Meanwhile, after a rare month off, India will go to the West Indies in July for a multi-format series.
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