WTC Final 2023: Sunil Gavaskar Slams India's Decision To Bench Ravichandran Ashwin In The Ultimate Test At Oval: 'It Is Shocking...'

May 21, 2023

JE Sports Desk: Former India batter Sunil Gavaskar has slammed India's decision of not including Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing eleven for the World Test Championship (WTC) final on Wednesday, June 7.

India took the field with Shardul Thakur being the fourth seamer alongside Mohammed, Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav with Ravindra Jadeja as the lone spinner.

Gavaskar believes that Umesh Yadav should have easily made way for the veteran spinner who has a promising record against the Aussies with 114 wickets to his name in 22 matches.

"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 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 after the Day's play ended.

The former Indian skipper called out senior bowler Umesh for not making an impact even after getting prioritised over a match-winner like Ashwin.

The 36-year-old was also overlooked by the think tank in the four Tests India played on their last tour to England in 2021. However, the 4-1 bowling combination worked for the Virat Kohli-led team back then with India taking a 2-1 lead and winning the matches at Lord's and The Oval.

Gavaskar mentioned Ashwin's brilliance against the left-handers considering there are quite a few in the Aussie lineup who probably would've struggled against the World No.1 ranked test bowler. The off-spinner has taken 229 wickets of left-handed batters in his remarkable career in the longer format.

"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.

Earlier at the toss, skipper Rohit backed the team's decision to go with one spinner and four-seamers considering the pitch conditions and overcast weather it remained ahead of the match.

"Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is Jadeja. It's always tough (to leave Ashwin), he's been a match-winner for us over the course of so many years. But you got to do the things that's needed for the team and eventually we came up with that decision," Rohit said at the toss about the team combination.

The only spinner Jadeja went wicketless on the opening day as Australia finished on a high at 327/3 with Steve Smith (95) and Travis Head (146) still at the crease making it tough for the Indian bowlers.