Indian veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin admitted that it was tough to sit out on the World Test Championship final against Australia. The Indian veteran has been an asset for India ever since making his debut in 2011 against West Indies but could not find a place in the Indian team due to the playing combinations.
The Indian team management went into the game with four seamers for the one-off test against Australia as they failed to assess the conditions in Kennington, Oval. He had been left out of India’s matches in England in 2021 and 2022, citing the overcast and pitch conditions in England.
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder made a stunning comeback into the playing 11 picking up 5 wickets in the 1st innings of the 1st test against West Indies. Speaking to the media, Ravichandran Ashwin said that it was tough to sit out of the playing 11 in the WTC final and added that he was physically and mentally prepared to play the game, even though he didn’t get the game he wants to make sure that he keeps dressing room up as they wanted to win the World Test Championship final.
“I’ve spoken about it. It’s very tough as a cricketer when you have a WTC final and end up sitting out, All that is fine. But what is the difference between me and another person if I also end up sulking in the dressing room? When we went to the WTC final, I was mentally prepared to play. I had prepared physically and mentally, planned for the game, everything. But, I was also prepared to not play the game,” he said.
“If I’m not playing, how do I respond? How do I make sure the dressing room is up and about? Winning the WTC final is the most important thing, it could be a very high point in my career and I would have played a good role in it. It was just unfortunate, it didn’t pan out,” Ravichandran Ashwin added.
Ashwin has been the standout performer at home and he has improved his record in foreign conditions over the last few years to provide some crucial breakthroughs for his team. The veteran all-rounder is India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket of all time – 479 wickets at 23.93 – only behind Anil Kumble.
The First Day Just Left Us Too Much Behind In The Shed – Ravichandran Ashwin On WTC Final
Ravichandran Ashwin feels that the team failed to utilize the Day 1 conditions, which put the team behind throughout the game, and said that he wanted to give his best efforts on the field when provided an opportunity in the team.
“The first day just left us too much behind in the shed. All I’d like to give to my teammates and Indian cricket as a whole is some understanding and my best efforts on the field and I’d like to leave it at that,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
Ashwin is currently the number one Test bowler in the world and was also India’s leading wicket-taker in WTC 2021-23 cycle but could not find a place in the team for the final against Australia which was not well received by many cricket experts as India suffered a hammering defeat of 209 runs against Australia.