'I fail to understand the exclusion of Ravi Ashwin' - Sachin Tendulkar's critical analysis of India's team selection for WTC Final

Australia won the World Test Championship Final 2023 as they defeated India by 209 runs on Sunday, May 11 at The Oval in London. Coming into Day 5, India needed 280 more runs to win having seven wickets in hand with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease. Australia managed to break the partnership between the duo early in the day as Scott Boland got the prized scalp of Kohli. Following his dismissal, the Indian batting order collapsed as they got bundled out for 234.

Following Australia’s clinical win, legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar congratulated them and credited Steve Smith and Travis Head for their massive stand in the first innings. However, Tendulkar also questioned the team management’s decision of leaving off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin out. 

Tendulkar took to Twitter and wrote, “There were some good moments for Team India, but I fail to understand the exclusion of @ashwinravi99 in the playing XI, who is currently the number one Test bowler in the world.”

The legendary batter further said that skillful spinners don’t always rely on turning tracks and hence Ashwin should’ve played considering that Australia had five left-handers out of their top eight.

“Like I had mentioned before the match, skillful spinners don’t always rely on turning tracks, they use drift in the air and bounce off the surface to disguise their variations. Not to forget, Australia had 5 left-handers out of their top 8 batters,” he added.

Congratulations to Team Australia on winning the #WTCFinal. @stevesmith49 and @travishead34 set a solid foundation on Day one itself to tilt the game in their favour. India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn’t. There were some good moments…

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 11, 2023

Ashwin hasn't played in six consecutive Tests for India in England

Notably, Ashwin played in the last WTC final in 2021 and was the joint-highest wicket-taker for India during the game. Following that, the off-spinner hasn’t featured in the next six Tests that India have played in England. 

The 36-year-old has picked 18 wickets in seven Tests played in England at an average of 28.11 and has also scored 261 runs in the country at an average of 23.72. However, Ashwin has fallen out of favour in the current team in overseas conditions with seam all-rounder Shardul Thakur replacing him.