Famous former cricketers have expressed their disappointment at Rohit Sharma’s tactical call-up as a result of R Ashwin’s absence.
No one seems to understand why India has dropped Ravichandran Ashwin from the crucial World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval.
Yes and no. Ashwin, the world’s No. 1 Test bowler and India’s leading wicket-taker in the 2021-2023 WTC cycle, was eliminated from the Indian playing XI in favor of Ravindra Jadeja, the team’s sole spinner.
For the sixth time in a row, Ashwin is not included in the Indian team for a Test match in England because of “conditions.”
The cricketing world has been left in disbelief by Ashwin’s absence, which is understandable given that prominent former cricketers have expressed their disappointment at Rohit Sharma’s tactical call-up.
At lunch, Sourav Ganguly, an ex-India captain, said: See it’s a bit of hindsight. Furthermore, I don’t have faith in reconsiderations. Before the toss, a captain must make a decision, and India had chosen to field with four fast bowlers.
Having said that, over the most recent few years they have had outcome over the most recent few years with 4 pacers.
They have won Test matches, but Rohit and I think differently if I were captain, and every captain is different. It would be very difficult for me to field a spinner of Ashwin’s caliber in the XI.
Michael Vaughan, previous Britain chief tweeted: ” It would be a grave mistake for India not to have Ravi Ashwin WTC2023.
On ESPNCricinfo, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar stated: I’m a little shocked that Ashwin hasn’t been picked thinking about the quantity of left-handers in the resistance.
Therefore, I hope it is a move that is entirely determined by the pitch. I also hope the seam bowlers move on Day 2 and Day 3 as well.
“Then it becomes an excellent choice. Ashwin would have been a good choice for many reasons; He also adds some batting depth.
Furthermore, that Ashwin which we say in the WTC last and the Ashwin that we’ve seen today. There is a noticeable change in the manner he bowls. This Ashwin you think would have done well in these circumstances.”
The ex-India pacer Dodda Ganesh used a simple “heartbreak” emoji to express his feelings.
While commentating live, the former captain of Australia, Ricky Ponting, was quite critical of India’s lineup.
The pitch beneath the grass appears to be dry. So it appears that India has chosen a bowling lineup for the first inning of the match. Given Australia’s large number of left-handed pitchers, surprised to see Ashwin leave.”
Ashwin, with 61 wickets, is the world’s third-most noteworthy wicket-taker in the WTC 2021-23 cycle behind Australia’s Nathan Lyon (83) and Kagiso Rabada on South Africa (67).
In addition, Ashwin has a great record against left-handers, as Manjrekar pointed out. Out of his 474 Test wickets, over 230 are against left-handers.
With five lefties in Australia’s lineup, Ashwin was almost certain to start.