India brought two changes for the ongoing fourth Test against England where Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur in place of Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma at The Oval. However, once again, the veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been overlooked.
Virat Kohli decided to his usual four pacers and a spinner combination which left cricket experts and fans a bit surprised after seeing Ashwin’s exclusion from the XI after India lost the third Test by an innings and 76 runs at Headingley.
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Former England captain Michael Vaughan alongside many other former players also took to Twitter and shared their views on the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin. Vaughan said that leaving out a player who has 413 wickets and five Test centuries in his name is “madness.” “The non selection of @ashwinravi99 has to be greatest NON selection we have ever witnessed across 4 Tests in the UK !!! 413 Test wickets & 5 Test 100s !!!! #ENGvIND Madness,” Vaughan tweeted.
The non selection of @ashwinravi99 has to be greatest NON selection we have ever witnessed across 4 Tests in the UK !!! 413 Test wickets & 5 Test 100s !!!! #ENGvIND Madness …
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 2, 2021
So so surprised not to see Ashwin as part of the Test match🤷🏽♀️#offiessticktogether
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) September 2, 2021
Surprising to see no @ashwinravi99 in India's XI, I believe there's ample room to play both spinners and 3 specialist quicks. @root66 will line this attack up once again! #ENGvIND
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) September 2, 2021
I can't believe they left out Ashwin again, on England's most spin-friendly ground. This team is unbelievable. You pick your five best bowlers, @ashwinravi99 has to be the first or second name. Omitting him & @MdShami11 at the Oval is like a death-wish — as if you want to lose!
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 2, 2021
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin had picked up a six-wicket haul in a County Championship game prior to the England Test series but he didn’t feature in any of the first three Tests against England as well. His last Test appearance came in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, where he claimed four wickets and scored 29 runs. However, India lost the summit match by eight wickets as well.
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At the toss, Virat Kohli said: “We would have bowled first as well but toss isn’t something you can control. Need to be prepared for either. We’re looking forward to putting runs on the board. Two changes – Ishant and Shami have niggles – Umesh and Shardul are back. For us, it’s about partnerships, we can’t focus too much on individuals. The opening partnerships have been good, it’s about getting more partnerships. We got a few days left on this tour, the series is poised nicely and there is going to be no shortage of effort from our side.”
