India vs England, 5th Test: Ravichandran Ashwin a victim of circumstances or conditions?

Ashwin finds himself out in the cold againThey say the more things change, the more they stay the same. One can apply that theory to the way Ravichandran Ashwin's spot becomes so dispensable every time India play in an away Test in SENA countries. Like the previous four Tests in the series against England in the UK, contested last year, he was left out again as India chose a four-pronged seam attack and the lone spinner's spot went to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted his disgust in one sentence: "No @ashwinravi99!!!Ridiculous."

Former England off-spinner and allrounder Moeen Ali had told TOI last week about how the conditions in Edgbaston would be perfect for India to play both R Ashwin and Jadeja. The feeling that everyone had was that Ashwin will get a look-in, more regularly in overseas games, in the new coaching set up headed by Rahul Dravid, an unabashed supporter of the spinner. One also felt he will get a chance to feature in Birmingham because he has a very good record against England skipper Ben Stokes, having dismissed him 11 times (the most he has dismissed any batter) and in a shaky top-order, Stokes' value as a batsman and hence his wicket early becomes important for India. The Edgbaston pitch was also straw coloured and dry. Ravi Shastri, who was the coach when India last visited England and made the tough call along with skipper Virat Kohli to drop Ashwin, said on air, "Jadeja just fits better in the combination as he adds batting depth. Hence we played him. He can also bowl tight when the wicket is not doing much in the first couple of days and then later on, he can get the ball to turn." To that fellow commentator and former England opener and captain,