ENG vs IND: Twitter dejected spotting Ravichandran Ashwin sitting all alone at The Oval
Ashwin has remained on the benches for four consecutive encounters in the five-Test series so far.
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Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s continuous non-inclusion from the Indian playing XIs in the Pataudi Trophy has been the focal point of discussion over the last month. Ashwin, a part of the 20-member squad named by the BCCI for the current series, participated in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton in June, which remains his only participation in the entire two-month tour.
Notably, the off-spinner played a county fixture for Surrey against Somerset at the venue of the fourth Test (The Oval) when he bagged 6/27, making the case for his inclusion even stronger. Although, India’s template of fielding four pacers alongside a lone spinner has meant that Ashwin has continued to warm the benches and is yet to feature in the series, with only one encounter in Manchester to go.
While India continued to prefer Ravindra Jadeja over Ashwin for the initial three encounters, the latter’s exclusion for the fourth time on the trot raised more eyebrows than ever before owing to the spin-friendly reputation of the venue. In the County Championship this season at the Oval, 899.5 overs of spin bowling have reaped 59 wickets at an average and strike rate of 27.77 and 58.10, respectively: the best spin record for any venue; while spin averages 29.10 at The Oval since in Tests played since 2015: the best spin average amongst all England venues.
Aloof Ashwin
A veteran of 79 Tests, Ashwin is India’s third-leading wicket-taker amongst spinners after Anil Kumble (619) and Harbhajan Singh (417) and has been in fine red-ball form, which includes notable recent performances against Australia during India’s historic triumph Down Under in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 (12 wickets in three Test), followed by a 32-wicket home series against England earlier this year.
All of the abovementioned notwithstanding, the World No.2 Test bowler continues to remain on the sidelines, with a nefarious possibility of not participating in any of the five Tests of the series looming over his head.
Meanwhile, at The Oval, Ashwin was spotted sitting aloof in the stands when the proceedings of the fourth day were underway. Although it was a casual moment, the empty chairs around him seemed an apt metaphorical representation of the situation arguably the finest red-ball spinner in world cricket currently finds himself in. Twitter, of course, had to react, and it did.
What a Test match .. Genuine chance for both teams to win .. If Ashwin was playing England would have no chance .. Without they certainly have a chance .. What a GREAT test series this has been .. !! #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 5, 2021
Image of the day. #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/mZ0TCLaPEv
— Karthik (@The_Karthik) September 5, 2021
Picture says it all, one man missed by Indian Team now !!!! 💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/ORfPazN8Cp
— Pradeep John (Tamil Nadu Weatherman) (@praddy06) September 5, 2021
when someone's ego is more than anything then these things happen.. hope in near future, Indian cricket team will have a new more deserving captain.
"stop ruining team with ur ego"#Ashwin#ViratKohli— Speak_Out (@Truthnndare) September 5, 2021
Seeing the condition of the pitch now, India will be dearly dearly missing Ashwin. Not selecting him will go onto hurt India it seems. #ENGvIND #Ashwin #IndvsEng
— AMIT ROY (@GamerInVoid) September 5, 2021
Borrow #Ashwin , anyways Indian team isn’t making use of his service 🤣 #INDvENG #ENGvIND
— Dream Big Stay Humble! (@DreamBigTrader) September 5, 2021
Jadeja picked over #Ashwin has picked 4 wickets in 4 matches@BCCI shouldn't allow an arrogant captain to play with career of one of the great spinner of India#RohitSharma #Rahane #IndvsEng #ENGvIND #ENGvsIND #INDvENG #ViratKohli #pujara #testcricket #AskTheExpert #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/MdTYwthajS
— Yogesh Hardasani (@yogjan15) September 5, 2021
When every team mates leaves u alone in your life because of afraid team captain who may drop you if you make friendship with him .. A great pain behind no.2 Bowler in the icc ranking. #IndvsEng #AskTheExpert #RishabhPant #ashwin @vikrantgupta73 pic.twitter.com/8UYH8MCuWM
— Ayush Pathak (@Ayushpandit265) September 5, 2021
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