Team India and Rohit Sharma created a massive stir among fans by dropping Ravichandran Ashwin for the WTC Final 2023 against Australia at The Oval.
India opted to go with Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav as the third and fourth pacers to partner Shami, Siraj, and Jadeja was the lone spinner in the attack.
Despite Ashwin’s vast experience, his strengths over Steve Smith and Labuschagne over the last couple of series, and Australia having 4 left-handers in their top 7, India excluded the veteran off-spinner from the XI. In the ongoing WTC 2021/23 cycle, Ashwin was arguably the best bowler of this cycle. He the third-most number of wickets- 61 – at an average of only 19, much better than Lyon’s average of 26.
Rohit Sharma cited that they have picked Shardul Thakur as the 4th seamer based on the overcast and pace-friendly conditions at The Oval, and admitted that it was tough to leave out a veteran match-winner in Ashwin from the side.
Shashi Tharoor left perplexed by India’s decision to drop Ravichandran Ashwin
Renowned Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Shashi Tharoor is baffled by the fact that R Ashwin, the man with 474 Test wickets, the number 1 ranked Test bowler, and the second-ranked Test all-rounder, couldn’t find a place in India’s XI for this big clash.
“Australia has recovered well from the early loss of a wicket in the Oval #WTC2023Final. Now I’d normally expect @ashwinravi99 to bowl a couple of overs before lunch. But incredibly enough, India has left the #1 ranked bowler in the world out of their team in the most spinner-friendly ground in England, against his favourite opponents, who are playing four left-handers in their top seven! Baffled, dismayed & bewildered,” Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Teams:
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
