Ravichandran Ashwin’s absence from India’s playing XI in the third Test against England was once again a subject of debate as the team went in with 4 pacers and Ravindra Jadeja as the sole spinner.
Seeing Indian pacers struggle for wickets in Headingley, many questioned if the decision to exclude Ravichandran Ashwin was the right one. Even pacer Mohammed Shami was asked about this at the press conference after stumps on Day 2. Joe Root ran riot at Headingley, scoring 121 off 165 while the top three England batters — Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, and Dawid Malan — all of whom scored a half-century each to take England into a strong position.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s Exclusion Is Upto Team Management: Mohammed Shami
The situation, hence, saw many questions raised if Ravichandran Ashwin should’ve been a part of the match. As far as Mohammed Shami is concerned, however, the decision remains the team management’s and it is the players’ responsibility to back whatever XI is picked.
“I wouldn’t like to comment on the selection. That’s a team management decision. The XI that’s there on the field will have to do the job. We need to back and trust the XI that the team management has picked. You can’t think of it [selection] too much.”
Indian pacers, who were on the money in the 2nd Lord’s Test, struggled to extract any help from the pitch. Of the 8 wickets that fell on Day 2, Mohammed Shami bagged three while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj claimed two each. Jasprit Bumrah also bagged a wicket but Ishant Sharma remained wicket-less.
Mohammed Shami: As The Pitch Slows Down, Picking Up Wickets Become Difficult With Less Bounce And Carry
Contrary to Indian batters, the Englishmen did incredibly well with the bat, triggering a plethora of questions over India skipper Virat Kohli’s decision to bat first. Mohammed Shami, however, stressed that the pitch became a lot more conducive to the batters after the Indian innings.
“As the pitch slows down, it gets difficult with less bounce and less carry. As you saw, we also got the edges. When the wicket slows down, it stops swinging and seaming. The chances of getting reverse swing reduce in such conditions where the wicket is green. The pitch was very slow today.
“The key is not to overthink and understand how the wicket is behaving and adapt accordingly. If it’s slow, then the key is to bowl good line and length,” Shami explained.
With England’s lead already 345, India has an uphill task to make a comeback in the match. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah got the remaining two wickets early on Day 3 as England got all out for 432 in their first innings. Riding on a scintillating Joe Root ton on Day 2, England took a massive lead of 354 runs.
Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will have a tough task at hand against the swing bowling of the likes of James Anderson in overcast conditions. India is batting currently and is 16/0 as KL Rahul survives after taking an LBW review.
Ravichandran Ashwin has scalped 413 wickets in the 79 Tests he has played for India, at an excellent average of 24.56. The off-spinner was the second-highest wicket-taker for India and fourth overall, in the four-match Test series in Australia in 2020/21. Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 12 wickets in 3 Tests, including one four-wicket haul.
In the four-match home series against England 2021, he was the highest wicket-taker. He signed off the series with 32 scalps in 4 Tests, including 3 five-wicket hauls. He played the WTC Final which India lost but didn’t feature in any of the first 3 Tests against hosts England.