'So much depth, empathy and awareness' - Venkatesh Prasad hails Ravichandran Ashwin after latter's recent interview

The World Test Championship final turned out to be a nightmare for the Indian team as it suffered a 209-run defeat against Australia at The Oval last week. After faltering in the WTC final for the second consecutive time, a lot of questions have been raised about India's modus operandi. One of the biggest talking points that emerged after the toss was India leaving out their premier spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin from their playing XI.

The two spinners in the match, Ravindra Jadeja and Nathan Lyon, fared well in the third and fourth innings, respectively. While Jadeja bagged three wickets in Australia's second innings, Lyon tormented the Indian batters, picking four wickets in the last innings of the match. After seeing the performances of Jadeja and Lyon, fans started ruing Ashwin's omission even more. Ashwin is currently the world's No. 1 bowler in Tests as per the ICC rankings.

After the WTC final, Ashwin gave his reaction to the entire incident that transpired. Venkatesh Prasad put out a tweet in support of the experienced off-spinner, hailing Ashwin as a champion, both on and off the field.

"So much depth, empathy and awareness. What a champion is @ashwinravi99, on the field and off it," Prasad tweeted.

So much depth, empathy and awareness. What a champion is @ashwinravi99 , on the field and off it. https://t.co/z8nqiDAQev

— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) June 16, 2023

I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there: Ravichandran Ashwin

In a recent interview with The Indian Express, the 36-year-old spinner lamented not being a part of the WTC final. He explained how he had performed well in overseas conditions in the last few years.

“It's a hard question to answer, right? Because we are standing right after the WTC Final. I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there. Even in the last final I got four wickets and bowled really well. Ever since 2018-19, my bowling overseas has been fantastic and I have managed to win games for the team," he said in the interview.

"I am looking at it as a captain or coach and I'm just talking in hindsight, in their defence. So the last time when we were in England, it was 2-2 with a drawn Test and they would have felt 4 pacers and 1 spinner is the combination in England. That is what they might have thought going into the final," Ashwin added.

Ashwin is currently playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League for the Dindigul Dragons.