To include Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI or not was one of the biggest talking points ahead of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship Final between India and Australia at the Oval in London.

In recent years, Ashwin has failed to break into India’s playing XI constantly in overseas Tests especially in England. He did not play a single game when India toured England in 2021 and played 4 Tests. However, it was expected that India would play him in the ongoing Test because of his form in recent months.

Ashwin is currently the world number one Test bowler. He is also India’s leading wicket-taker in WTC 2021-23 cycle. With 61 wickets from 13 Tests, Ashwin is third in the list of most wickets in the ongoing WTC cycle. Only Nathan Lyon and Kagiso Rabada have picked up more wickets than Ashwin in this cycle. However, his form, experience and ICC ranking did not help him get a place in the playing XI for the WTC final.

India defy Sachin Tendulkar’s suggestion on Ravichandran Ashwin:

Team India defied the suggestion given by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar on Ravichandran Ashwin as they decided against including him in the playing eleven. Before the game, Sachin Tendulkar had advised India to include the spin spearhead in the playing eleven. The former India batsman had opined that the bounce and conditions at the Oval would have suited Ashwin.

“It need not be always a turning track as sometimes the spinners rely a lot on the bounce, sometimes that little bit of zip that they get off the pitch, also on the overhead conditions and it depends a lot on the shiny side of the ball.

“If they are able to get that drift, they can make the ball talk in the air without the pitch coming into play. So, Oval is going to be good venue for India,” said Tendulkar in his website 100mbsports.

Team India, however, decided to ignore the suggestion and include just one specialist spinner in the team. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja got the nod as India named three specialist pacers, one spinner and one fast-bowling allrounder in the team.

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