Sachin Tendulkar Questions Exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from India’s Playing XI in WTC Final
In a surprising turn of events, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar expressed his astonishment and confusion over the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from India’s playing XI for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. Tendulkar, renowned for his cricket acumen, believes that Ashwin, a great calibre spinner, possesses the skills to be effective regardless of favourable conditions, utilizing variations like drift and bounce to trouble batsmen.
However, coach Rahul Dravid defended the decision, citing overcast conditions and the presence of five left-handers in Australia’s batting lineup as reasons to opt for a fourth-specialist seamer. Tendulkar emphasized the importance of India batting big in the first innings to stay competitive but expressed disappointment that they couldn’t do so.
Tendulkar further questioned the exclusion of Ashwin, who currently holds the top spot in the Test bowling rankings, despite his consistent performance throughout the two-year cycle of the WTC. Australia dominated the match, amassing a substantial first-innings total of 469 runs and eventually securing a convincing victory by 209 runs.
