Veteran Team India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has claimed how England have hosted both the World Test Championship (WTC) finals till now, and they are again set to host the upcoming one as well in 2025 as well. While questioning the move, Ashwin suggested that countries like India and Australia should also get the opportunity to host the marquee event as well. He also added that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad would be a great fit for an ICC final.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said: “The last two WTC finals happened in England. Should we change the venue? Why not Australia or India? We have the massive Narendra Modi Stadium waiting to host another great final. What do you think about that? Another person suggested playing on the home ground of the table toppers. That is also a decent thought. But the Australian weather in June is a little dull, so we don’t know about that.”
Notably, the inaugural WTC final was played between India and New Zealand in Southampton in 2021 where New Zealand emerged victorious. In 2023, India and Australia played against each other in the WTC final in London (Kennington Oval) where Australia won. The upcoming 2025 WTC final is also slated to be played in London (Lord’s) as well.
He stated, “We still have two home series and an away series. Same with the Aussies. Looking at all of this, I feel yet another WTC showdown awaits us. Of course, we are at a transition, so our fingers are crossed..”
Ravichandran Ashwin recently opined on how his Team India mates Mohammed Siraj and Suryakumar Yadav tease him constantly, even
when he takes a wicket as well. Ashwin also mentioned that he enjoys that fun banter with them.
“Siraj’s consistent job is to tease me. If I take a wicket, he goes all gaga about it to tease me. He and Suryakumar gang up and keep doing this as a job. It’s teasing, but there’s also affection and praise in it. I enjoy that a lot. A lot of people tease, but I’ve gone past feeling bad about it. It used to bother me a bit earlier. But what is it actually? I would think it’s a way of communicating and bonding. If Surya is not there, Siraj will take over, and vice versa. Both of them together are something else,” he added.
“Many people have the opinion that a spinner should get wickets in a match in India. On the first day of a test match, unless it’s a really bad pitch, it isn’t easy to get wickets from a spinner. His spell on the first morning changed the entire complexion of the game, and he was rightly awarded the Man of the Match. I saw a void conversation about me taking more wickets than him in the match and related arguments, but it’s absolutely ridiculous. We should see it in the context of the match. And this is how the man of the match should be awarded,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
