Cricket world in shock after India continue to bench R Ashwin against England
R Ashwin took seven wickets in the only County Championship game he played at The Oval before the start of the Test series between England and India. However, it was not enough for the veteran to play in the fourth Test of the series. Virat Kohli has backed his four-seamers theory. Ravindra Jadeja has been preferred over R Ashwin for his batting abilities.
Jadeja has taken just 2 wickets in five innings so far. Virat made it clear it was the team combination they have preferred but to keep Ashwin out of four consecutive Test matches is a big call. He is one of the best spinners in Whites and has taken 413 wickets in the longest format of the game. Former cricketers and cricket experts were not happy to see Ashwin’s exclusion.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Ashwin’s non-inclusion:
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
Test cricket, where the second best bowler in the world – and his country's 4th highest wicket-taker of all time – can carry the drinks for four matches in a row (against a team he mangled just a few months ago), despite being fit and available. Daft, brilliant sport
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) September 2, 2021
I really hope it works but I am flabbergasted that India have gone in without Ashwin again.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 2, 2021
Lineups:
England: Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (captain), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson.
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
