“Disappointing to end up on the wrong side” – Ravichandran Ashwin reacts to Team India’s loss in WTC 2023 final 

Ravichandran Ashwin, who was benched for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, has expressed his disappointment after Team India lost to Australia by 209 runs in the ultimate Test.

The world No.1 Test bowler, however, credited India for reaching back-to-back WTC finals. The 36-year-old praised the coaches and support staff for their contributions to the team during the 2021-23 championship cycle.

Ashwin tweeted:

“Congratulations Australia on winning this #WTCFinal and closing out this cycle of Test cricket. It is disappointing to end up on the wrong side of things. Nevertheless, it was a great effort over the last 2 years or so to get here in the first place.”

He continued:

“Amidst all the chaos and scathing assessments, I feel it’s very important to acknowledge all my teammates who played in this cycle and most importantly, the coaching and support staff who have held on like a rock of support.”

For the uninitiated, Ashwin was benched for the summit clash despite being adjudged Player of the Series during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He raked up 25 wickets during the four-Test series, which India won 2-1.

Interestingly, the off-spinner is India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests against Australia, with 114 scalps in 22 Tests, including 39 wickets in 10 Tests in Australia. In England, Ashwin has 18 wickets in seven Tests. The all-rounder, as a batter, has five centuries in Test cricket.

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Why Ravichandran Ashwin was dropped from WTC final?

Ravichandran Ashwin

The Indian think tank decided to go ahead with four seamers and Ravindra Jadeja as the all-rounder instead of having Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI for the WTC final. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team reckoned that conditions looked more suited for the seamers on Day 1.

When questioned about Ashwin’s omission, Paras Mhambrey, India’s bowling coach, recently told a press conference:

"It is always a very difficult decision to drop a champion bowler like him. Looking at the conditions in the morning, we thought an additional seamer would be beneficial. You can always look back and say that additional spinner would have been beneficial but we took the call looking at the conditions.”

Ashwin was also benched during the entire India tour of England 2021-22, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Nathan Lyon got help from the wicket and picked up four and five wickets, respectively, in the match.

Click here to check out the IND vs AUS full scorecard.