Australia won their maiden World Test Championship title by beating India by 209 runs in the final at the Kia Oval in London today (June 11). This was India’s second straight defeat in a World Test Championship final following their loss against New Zealand in 2021.

Before the start of the game, the main point of discussion was whether India should pick R Ashwin in the XI or not. Previously, India had benched Ashwin for five successive Test matches in England following the WTC final against New Zealand in 2021. Out of those five games, they had won two, lost two, and drawn one.

India continued with their four-seamer theory in England for this game as well, as they picked Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur as the third and fourth seamers, while Ashwin did not find a spot in the XI. While it was not a popular move, it is now being scrutinised further with the backdrop of India’s comprehensive loss.

Sachin Tendulkar tweeted about the match, congratulating Australia for their victory to start with, and then went on question why Ashwin was not selected in the XI. “There were some good moments for Team India, but I fail to understand the exclusion of R Ashwin in the playing XI, who is currently the number one Test bowler in the world,” his tweet read.

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Rohit Sharma had explained at the toss that leaving Ashwin out was a difficult decision, but the conditions demanded it. Tendulkar, in his tweet, went on to explain how he felt that Ashwin should have played despite the prevailing conditions at the Kia Oval.

“Like I had mentioned before the match, skillful spinners don’t always rely on turning tracks, they use drift in the air and bounce off the surface to disguise their variations. Not to forget, Australia had five left-handers out of their top-eight batters,” added Tendulkar.

Congratulations to Team Australia on winning the #WTCFinal. @stevesmith49 and @travishead34 set a solid foundation on Day one itself to tilt the game in their favour. India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn’t. There were some good moments…

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 11, 2023

Tendulkar’s decree is a notable one, given that, since he retired from the game, he has generally shied away from giving strong opinions on matters regarding the India team.

Thakur and Umesh, both of whom could have been potentially replaced by Ashwin in the XI, ended up having below-par games with the ball. Thakur finished with figures of 2-104, while Umesh finished with 2-131, with neither offering much control. Thakur, however, did score a record-breaking half-century in the first innings that ensured India got close to 300.