Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is India’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, with 474 wickets in 92 matches at an average of 23.93. He is also the number one bowler in the ICC Test rankings but did not find a place in Rohit Sharma’s playing XI for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at the Oval in London last week.
India lost to Australia by 209 runs in the WTC final on Sunday, their second consecutive defeat in the title clash after losing to New Zealand in 2022. After the match, Ashwin remained dignified in defeat and praised the victorious Australian team and also ‘acknowledged’ the contribution of his teammates in helping India reach the final.
“Congratulations Australia for winning this #WTCFinal and closing this cycle of Test cricket. Disappointing to end up on the wrong side of things, yet it was a great effort over the last 2 years to come here in first place,” tweeted Ashwin.
“Amidst all the chaos and harsh assessments, I feel it is very important to thank all my teammates who have played in this cycle and most importantly the coaching and support staff,” the off-spinner’s tweet read. ,
Congratulations Australia on this win #WTCFinal And to close this cycle of Test cricket. It’s disappointing to end up on the wrong side of things, yet it was a great effort to come here in first place over the last 2 years.
Amidst all the chaos and_ — Ashwin__ (@ashwinravi99) June 11, 2023
Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker for India in the WTC 2021-23 cycle With 61 wickets at an average of 19.67, he took two five-wicket hauls. The next best for India was Jasprit Bumrah who took 45 wickets at an average of 19.73. The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu was also the third-highest wicket-taker in the WTC 2021-23 cycle.
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has questioned the exclusion of world’s top-ranked Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin from Team India’s playing XI against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023 at The Oval.
Sachin wrote on Twitter, “I fail to understand @ashwinravi99 being dropped from the playing eleven, who is currently the number one Test bowler in the world.”
Congratulations to team Australia #WTCFinal, @SteveSmith49 And @travishead34 To turn the game in their favor, they laid a solid foundation on the first day itself. India needed to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they could not do so. Had some good moments_ – Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 11, 2023
“As I mentioned before the match, skilful 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’s top 8 5 of the batsmen were left-handers,” said Tendulkar.