IND vs AUS: Ravichandran Ashwin – As on the excepted lines, India have gone on with four pacers for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at the Oval. Ravichandran Ashwin has been dropped from the playing XI, as India have gone with Umesh Yadav as the fourth pacer. It was always a toss-up between these two leading to the WTC. With the pitch at Oval helping pacers a bit more than spinners, Rohit Sharma decided it is best to have the extra pace of Umesh.
With the conditions being overcast, and offering a bit of swing and seam movement, Umesh Yadav’s skills could prove to be more handy than Ashwin. With India already having Jadeja in the playing XI, head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit wanted to exploit the Oval condition by going all-out with the pace attack. Mohammed Siraj, Shami, and Shardul Thakur are the other three pacers besides Umesh.
IND vs AUS: India keeps faith in Ravindra Jadeja due to his superior all-round skills, wait for Ravichandran Ashwin continues in overseas conditions
This is not the first time Ashwin has been overlooked in overseas conditions. For the unversed during India’s tour of England in 2021, the off-spinner did not play a single Test, with India preferring Ravindra Jadeja as the sole spinner. The southpaw has edged Ashwin in overseas conditions due to superior all-round skills.
The off-spinner’s record in England is also not great as he has picked only 18 wickets in seven Test matches, with an average of 28.11. On the other hand, Jadeja has played 11 test matches in England and has picked up 23 wickets. Apart from bowling, the southpaw adds value with the bat in hand.
With Rishabh Pant not playing due to injury, Jadeja is the most experienced batter lower down the order, scoring 2658 runs in 64 Test matches. Jadeja also has scored a century in England during India’s last tour in 2021.
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