Published 13:59 IST, June 9th 2023
'Who says off-spinner can’t play': Ganguly takes brutal dig at Rohit Sharma & Rahul Dravid
As India are not in an ideal position in the WTC 2023 Final, former India skipper, Sourav Ganguly questions the selections made by the Indian team
IND vs AUS: Two days in the WTC final and Australia are in the driver's seat. Captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid are under fire from the enthusiasts and experts and the discussions on what went wrong for India has largely prevailed. While some cricket pundits are of the view that India did not bowl according to the condition of the pitch, the others have been criticising the choice of shots of the Indian batsmen. Former India captain, Sourav Ganguly has also given his take on the performance of India and highlighted a major missing from the squad.
India endured a tough couple of days in the eminent clash that will decide who will lift the prestigious Test mace. While the time is still left for a comeback, the hindsight review is in place. Sourav Ganguly, who is present in London and is a part of the expert panel that has been entrusted to define the happenings of the WTC final, has stated that playing R Ashwin "would have been a better call".
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Sourav Ganguly questions team management's decision on not playing Ashwin
Ever since the beginning of the match, there have been rumblings everywhere regarding the snub of R Ashwin in the playing XI, and as things progressed in India vs Australia WTC 2023 Final, the voices of that rued his absence only got louder. Ganguly is also seemingly of the same view.
"Who says off-spinner can’t play on a green pitch? Left-handed batter [Ravindra Jadeja] and Nathan Lyon. He has more than 400 wickets in Test cricket. At this moment, he dismissed India’s best batter. [It had both] Turn and Bounce. India missed a trick by not including a match-winner like R Ashwin. In hindsight, it seems he would have been a better call, as Jadeja isn’t getting the support from the other end. Jadeja is putting pressure from his end, but there is no one to choke the flow of runs from the other side." Ganguly on Star Sports.
So, with all that has transpired till now, what do you think, is the decision to leave out R Ashwin justifiable?
Updated 14:11 IST, June 9th 2023