Perhaps dropping the No.1 bowler in Test cricket was not a good idea for India as they struggled on Day 1 and Australian batters dominated over the Indian bowlers scoring over 45 runs by post lunch on Day 2.

Both Steven Smith (121) and Travis Head (163) scored their centuries leading their team to set up a good chasing total (still in progress) against India.

Ashwin’s stats:

Looking at Ashwin’s stats, he is the most successful bowler against left-handed batters in Test cricket and dismissed left-handed batters over 229 times in the longest format.

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Legendary cricketer Sourav Ganguly opined India missed a trick by not including a match-winner like Ashwin, while former Australia captain Ricky Ponting claimed that India fell into a trap in the WTC final.

Gavaskar’s opinion: 

Echoing similar sentiments, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed Rohit and Co. for overlooking Ashwin in the summit clash.

“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,” Star Sports quoted Gavaskar as saying.

“There are four left-handed batters in this Australian side, and he has traditionally done well against them. Shockingly, there isn’t any off-spinner on this side,” Gavaskar added.

Paras Mhambrey defends: 

While former Indian cricketer Paras Mhambrey defended the controversial call of dropping Ashwin for the ‘team’s benefit’.

“See, it’s always a very difficult decision to drop a champion bowler like that. But I thought looking at the conditions in the morning, I thought having the additional seamer would be beneficial. And it also has worked in the past. If you look at the earlier games that we played, the last Test match, we went in four-seamers, which did well. The seamers have done well out here for us. But you can always look at the hindsight, saying additional spinner would have been different. But looking at the conditions in the morning, I thought additional seamer would be unequipped,” he said during the press conference.

He added, “I think when you discuss with the team, not only on the first day, but you know the conditions for quite some time. We have been practicing for 3-4 days. We are looking at the wicket, how it is. I think that conversation happens with the player. We have to be honest about our strategies. The player must be very important. But your combination is also important.”

Ganguly’s take: 

While Ganguly opined Rohit Sharma allowed Australian batters to score easy runs. “India will be a bit disappointed. They had Australia at 76/3 and let them get off the hook. I know that partnerships happen in cricket. There will be a batting team who will come back and play well. I thought India started well just after Lunch but lost the feel a bit as the game progressed,” Ganguly said.

Pointing notes: 

Stating that India fell into a trap in the WTC final, Pointing noted Ashwin would have bowled better than Jadeja.

“The reason why I was surprised that Ashwin was left out is because of the number of left-handers Australia has. There’s no doubt in my mind that Ashwin would have bowled a lot better than Jadeja later on in the Test. The big decision that they had to make was between Thakur and Umesh. I was leaning towards Thakur because he would be my workhorse to give a bit of a break to the strike bowlers Shami and Siraj. You can go to Jadeja for a couple of overs just to tie the game down a bit,” he added.

Manjrekar points out: 

Commenting on the selection, renowned cricket commentator and former Indian players Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo said: “I’m a little surprised that Ashwin hasn’t been picked considering the number of left-handers in the opposition. So I hope it’s a move that is completely dictated by the pitch and I hope there is movement for the seam bowlers not just for the first day but on Day 2 and 3.”

“Then it becomes a good selection. Ashwin, for many reasons, would have been a good selection; he adds a bit of batting depth as well. And that Ashwin which we say in the WTC final and the Ashwin that we’ve seen today. There is a marked change in the way he bowls. This Ashwin you think would have done well in these conditions,” he added.

Meanwhile, till the report was filed, Australia had scored 454 runs after losing 8 wickets on Day 2 at the WTC final against India at the Oval.

Updated: 08 Jun 2023, 06:21 PM IST