Ravindra Jadeja Or Ravichandran Ashwin At The Oval? Gavaskar Picks India's WTC Final Playing XI

06.06.2023 - 18:30 sports.ndtv.com

Former Indian cricket team skipper Sunil Gavaskar picked his preferred playing XI for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia and it came with a couple of surprises.

In the race for wicket-keeper, he picked KS Bharat to retain his position as he has been playing for the side regularly. Gavaskar also went with two spinners at the Oval and three pace bowlers but added that this strategy will work on a “bright day” and any change in playing conditions will change the combination. "I will talk about the batting and that will be Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as one-two.

No. 3 is (Cheteshwar) Pujara, No. 4 is (Virat) Kohli, No. 5 is Ajinkya Rahane," Gavaskar said. "I would imagine No. 6 would be either (KS) Bharat or Ishan Kishan.

They are talking about Bharat because he has played all these matches so far. So will probably stick with Bharat at six," he added.

cricket Rohit Sharma Ravichandran Ashwin Ishan Kishan Sunil Gavaskar Ravindra Jadeja Australia India

The absence of Ravichandran Ashwin from India's playing XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia remained one of the biggest talking points. Ashwin, who had worked hard to succeed in the tricky English conditions, didn't even find his name on the team sheet, with Ravindra Jadeja taking up the sole spinner's spot. As the match ended in a defeat for India, Ashwin took to social media and posted a lengthy tweet. The veteran cricketer has now opened up on the feeling that prompted him to do so.

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Team India was thrashed by Australia in the World Test Championship, earlier this month. Playing at the Oval, the Rohit Sharma-led side faced a 209-run defeat and their hopes of winning an ICC trophy were brutally crushed. Team India's failure at another major ICC event gave rise to a lot of criticism, as many fans and experts raised questions about the side's Playing XI. The team management went with Ravindra Jadeja as their only spinner in the match, which led to the exclusion of the ace all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin.

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One of the greats of the modern game, Ravichandran Ashwin has had quite a journey. From being central to India's plans across formats to becoming a specialist, before eventually returning to white-ball cricket, the off-spinner has had a roller-coaster of a ride. After Ashwin was snubbed for a spot in India's playing XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia, his absence became one of the biggest talking points on social media. The veteran cricketer, who has found himself in such positions on multiple occasions, opened up about the 'trauma' he and his family have gone through over the years and the 'overthinker' tag that has been given to him.

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Ravindra Jadeja is arguably one of the finest all-rounders in the world. The 34-year-old cricketer has produced some of the best spells ever seen in Test cricket. His heroics in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, will be remembered for ages. However, there is another thing apart from cricket, which makes Jadeja a fan favourite and that is his love for horses. On many occasions, the all-rounder has expressed his fondness for the horses. On Sunday, Jadeja shared another picture with the adorable animal, which utterly impressed the fans.

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Ravichandran Ashwin, the No. 1 Test bowler in the world, couldn't find a place in the Indian team's playing XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia. For many, Ashwin's absence from the team was one of the biggest reasons behind India's defeat in the final. The off-spinner, who himself is one of his biggest critics, opened up on the heartbreaking decision by the team management, admitting that he would've loved to feature in the title-decider.

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Ravichandran Ashwin is arguably one of the finest all-rounders India ever-had. Despite his heroics in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, earlier this year, he was not named in the Playing XI against the same opponent for the World Test Championship final at The Oval. However, Ashwin seemed to have moved on from the snub as the 36-year-old spinner is currently playing in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2023 for the Dindigul Dragons and took his side to victory over Ba11sy Trichy on Wednesday.