The exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final by Team India has been labeled as one of their biggest mistakes by former cricketer Aakash Chopra. The WTC final took place on Sunday, June 11, at The Oval in London, where India suffered a crushing 209-run defeat against Australia.
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, India decided to field four seamers and a lone spinner, Ravindra Jadeja. However, this decision proved to be disastrous as India conceded a massive total of 469 runs in the opening innings. Travis Head’s blistering knock of 163 off 174 balls and Steve Smith’s patient century of 121 off 268 deliveries propelled Australia’s first-innings total. In response, India managed to score only 296 runs in their first innings. Australia then declared their second innings at 270/8. On the final day, India’s chase of a daunting 444-run target ended with them being bowled out for 234.
Analyzing the match on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra focused on the mistakes made by the Indian team in the one-off Test. He expressed his belief that India should have elected to bat first after winning the toss. Additionally, he suggested that India could have played three fast bowlers and two spinners, both of whom possess batting abilities.
“If you break down this match, you should have probably batted first after winning the toss. You could have played Ashwin easily if you had batted – three fast bowlers and the two spinners, both of whom can bat,” Chopra opined.
Chopra further argued that Ravichandran Ashwin could have been included in the team instead of Shardul Thakur. He expressed his opinion that Thakur, in his view, should not have been considered as the third seamer in the team composition, but rather as the fourth fast bowler.
“Then you could have gone with Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav/Jaydev Unadkat/Shardul Thakur. Shardul will not be the third fast bowler in my personal team. He can be the fourth fast bowler. I personally don’t consider Shardul a third fast bowler. Don’t know whether it is right or wrong, but that’s what I feel,” Chopra explained.
Shardul Thakur, however, justified his selection in the one-off Test with a commendable all-round performance. He made significant contributions with both bat and ball. Thakur picked up two crucial wickets, dismissing opener David Warner and centurion Steve Smith, during Australia’s first innings. In India’s first innings, the 31-year-old also played a vital role by scoring 51 runs, giving the team a chance to stage a comeback in the game.
