Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, No. 1 ranked bowler and No. 2 ranked all-rounder in MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings, is not playing the final match of the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship. As much as an astonishing development it sounds in the heat of the moment, it is not something India haven’t done in the past.
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India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl citing the overcast conditions at Kennington Oval today. “We are going to bowl. The conditions and also the weather being overcast. The pitch won’t change too much,” Sharma told host broadcaster Star Sports Network at the toss.
Playing a Test match after three months, India have made a total of three changes to their Playing XI. Apart from Ashwin, batter Shreyas Iyer and all-rounder Axar Patel are also not playing this all-important final. Meanwhile, batter Ajinkya Rahane, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj have been included into the Playing XI.
Why is R Ashwin Not Playing Today vs Australia?
Not surprisingly, Sharma reckoned leaving out Ashwin as a “tough” decision. Additionally, he also welcomed Rahane back into the Playing XI for the first time in 17 months.
“Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is [Ravindra] Jadeja. It’s always tough [to leave out Ravichandran Ashwin]. He’s been a match-winner. But you got to do the things that’s needed for the team and eventually we came up with that decision. He [Ajinkya Rahane] brings a lot of experience. He’s played 80-odd [82] Test matches and he’s done well for the team,” Sharma added.
India, who had a couple of important decisions to make, have picked Thakur over Ashwin for the second all-rounder’s spot. Speaking of the wicket-keeper batter, Srikar Bharat has retained his spot in the XI to deny a Test debut to Ishan Kishan.
Speaking of Ashwin, he hasn’t played a Test in England since the last final of the Test Championship against New Zealand. The ace right-arm spinner had warmed the bench throughout a five-match series in England in 2021 and 2022. Considering how India drew that series 2-2 with four pacers and Jadeja, Ashwin not playing today was highly likely.
Australia, on the other hand, have also made three changes to their Playing XI. Batter Peter Handscomb and spinners Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann have made way for batter David Warner, captain Pat Cummins and pacer Scott Boland.
R Ashwin Test Record in England
In seven Tests in England, Ashwin has picked 18 wickets at an average of 28.11 and a strike rate of 66.7. With the bat in hand, Ashwin’s 261 runs have come at an average of 23.72 across 14 innings.
