"If Conditions Demand...": England Great Warns India Ahead Of WTC Final

India should learn from their past mistakes and not think twice before leaving one of their premier spinners out of the playing XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia if the conditions demand, said former England skipper Nasser Hussain. The spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin didn't make much of an impact two years ago when India lost to New Zealand by eight wickets in a rain-hit final of the inaugural edition. According to Hussain, India made the blunder of reading the conditions wrong the last time and shouldn't repeat the mistake this time as they eye their maiden ICC title in 10 years. "I think India, as they showed in Australia, can win in any conditions,” Hussain said on The ICC Review.

"It helps with the balance of their side if the weather is good and if the sun shines at The Oval, that they can go with their formula of two spinners, two seamers, and have (Shardul) Thakur as your third seamer.

"If you look back at the last World Test Championship, I think India read the conditions wrong. The lights were on on all five days, it was grey, it was miserable, it was cold. New Zealand didn't play a front-line spinner. India played two, and I think seam dominated, swing dominated.

"India have played some good cricket at The Oval. They beat England there last time in a really good game. I think it's a pretty fair venue." Jadeja and Ashwin have scored eight Test hundreds between them with the former making 104 in India's last red-ball match in England in 2022.

Hussain feels the spin duo offers India batting depth but made it clear going with the two might not be the best option if conditions are rainy and wet.

"I would go Jadeja and Ashwin, (for) batting depth. Then you can bat all the