You Don't Look At Pitch For...: Gavaskar Slams India's Decision To Drop No. 1 Bowler Ashwin For WTC 2023 Final
World No. 1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, who was India's leading wicket-taker in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was shockingly dropped to the bench by Indian team management for the World Test Championship 2023 final, which kicked off at the Oval in London on Wednesday (June 7). The decision to drop Ashwin has surprised Sunil Gavaskar, who minced no words to slam Indian team management for the bizarre selection call.
Updated Jun 8, 2023 | 08:51 AM IST
World's No. 1 Test bowler R Ashwin is not playing in WTC 2023 final between India and Australia. Picture Credit: Twitter/@BCCI and @LucknowIPL
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- India is facing Australia in the final of the WTC 2023.
- Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first.
- The world's No. 1 Test bowler, R Ashwin, is not playing in the WTC 2023 final.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss against Australia in the ICC World Test Championship 2023 final, which kicked off at the Oval in London on Wednesday (June 7), and opted to field first. India made three changes to the playing XI from the team that took the field against Australia during the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad. In place of the world’s No. 1 Test bowler, R Ashwin , all-rounder Axar Patel, and injured Shreyas Iyer, former Test vice captain Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur, and Mohammed Siraj were included in the playing XI.
The decision to drop Ashwin came as a surprise to many, especially when he sits at the No. 1 position in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking and was the leading wicket-taker in the 2023 BGT. Ashwin was axed for the summit clash due to the green top at the Oval, but the decision to drop him and play four seamers backfired for Team India on Day 1 of the WTC 2023 final. The Australian batters made a mockery of the Indian bowlers and hammered them all around the park to post a total of 327 runs on the board for the loss of three wickets in 85 overs.
Ashwin’s omission was questioned by the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting during the first day’s play, and after the end of the opening day in London, former Indian opening batter Sunil Gavaskar also lashed out at Indian team management for dropping Ashwin. According to him, India missed a trick by not playing Ashwin, and he should have featured in place of Umesh, who looked out of rhythm.
"India missed a trick by not playing Ravi Ashwin. He's the No. 1 Ranked bowler. You don't look at the pitch for players like him. You are playing in a World Test Championships final, and you don’t pick the number one bowler in Test cricket. This decision from Team India is beyond my understanding. I would have picked him in place of Umesh Yadav , who was out of action and looks out of rhythm," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
"There are four left-handed batters in this Australian side, and he has traditionally done well against them. It is shocking that there isn’t any off-spinner in this side," Gavaskar added.
In Ashwin’s absence, Jadeja is the only spinner in India’s playing XI, and he bowled a total of 14 overs on the opening day in which he conceded 48 runs but was unable to take any wicket.
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