“I definitely felt that” - Anjum Chopra breaks her silence on Team India dropping Ravichandran Ashwin for WTC final

Former India captain Anjum Chopra has blasted Team India for dropping World No.1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin for World Test Championship (WTC) final, which India lost to Australia by 209 runs.

Chopra labeled Ashwin as a quality bowler who can deliver regardless of the conditions. She was stunned to witness the exclusion of the off-spinner with record 474 Test wickets in his tally, second most for India, only after Anil Kumble (619).

The 46-year-old told News18:

“Absolutely! I definitely felt that. In fact, my playing XI did have Ashwin there. I’m not saying that you can’t play four pacers, it’s nothing of that sort, but I always felt that irrespective of the conditions, had India lost the toss and we were asked to bat, we would have struggled to think, ‘Oh! Now what do we do?’ I’m pretty sure that the team management thought through the decision.”

She added:

“As a player, I would have always kept Ashwin in that line-up, just because, I think he is a quality bowler and irrespective of the conditions, he can deliver the good. And he’s absolutely in isolation, just looking at his skill level and the records the Indian team has had with him in the playing XI.”

Ashwin has scalped 114 wickets in 22 Tests against Australia, including 39 scalps in 10 Tests away from home. His Australian counterpart Nathan Lyon picked up five wickets in the WTC final. Even left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets in the contest.

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“You have to have that balance” – Anjum Chopra amid talks about overhauling Team India after WTC final

Amid talks about overhauling Team India in Tests, Anjum Chopra believes that Team India has to find a balance of youth and experience. She said that Shubman Gill (13 and 18) and Cheteshwar Pujara (14 and 27) failed to deliver in the WTC final.

Chopra said:

“So, I don’t think that really works. You have to have that balance. Yes, you will have young players coming through – Shubman has come through, and so did Shardul and Siraj. The younger lot will keep coming through. It’s all about taking those opportunities and delivering at the right time.”

She added:

“If you talk about experience, Cheteshwar Pujara has been playing in England for the last three months through the season. So, who faltered, and what went wrong… a lot of things can be discussed. What happens in England, who doesn’t know that? Everyone knows everything. But knowledge is one thing and putting it into practice to get the desired result is another, which will not change, just like the debate about making way for the younger lot.”

Team India will begin the 2023-25 WTC cycle in West Indies with a two-match Test series next month.