WTC Final: India's bowling coach explains WHY Ravi Ashwin was dropped for the Aussie tie
India's bowling coach explains WHY Ravi Ashwin was dropped for WTC Final
The only thing that made headlines on day one of the World Test Championship Final was the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin for India against Aussies. The ranked number one Test bowler in the world failed to find a place in the final XI as captain Rohit Sharma picked seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur ahead of him.
After winning the toss, India elected to bowl first, and following the first session, where the Indian bowlers made the ball do all the talking, Australian batters dominated the remaining two sessions, piling up runs at will. While veteran Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 95 after the days' play, Travis Head found form and slammed his first hundred on the English soil, scoring 146*.
It's fair to say India missed Ashwin in the middle overs, as Jadeja alone failed to create any pressure on day one surface. Paras Mhambrey - India's bowling coach, addressed the issue during the presser and explained why India decided against playing Ashwin for this one-off WTC Final 2023.
ALSO READ:WTC Final, Day 2 - Preview: Following troubled start, clueless Indian team to aim for comeback
Paras revealed India clearly went for horses for courses strategy, as looking at the overhead conditions and the green, bouncy track on offer, bowling first and picking an extra seamer than playing two spinners looked like the right decision.
"It is always a very difficult decision to drop a champion bowler like him. Looking at the conditions in the morning, we thought an additional seamer would be beneficial," Paras said after stumps on day one.
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"It has also worked in the past for us. Seamers have done well out here for us. You can always look back and say that additional spinner would have been beneficial, but we took the call looking at the conditions," he added.
Communicating with them ain't easy, but they understand overall picture
When asked about how the coaches or the captain explain their call to bench a particular player, Paras detailed, saying,
"When team discussion happens, we talk about composition over a period of days. We trained here for three-four days before the game, and seeing the wicket, conversations happen with players. The players also understand that (the importance of team combination)," he added.
Addressing the situation in which India find themselves, with Australia being 327 for three as things stand, Paras feels the new ball will do something for India come day two as they have a chance to make a comeback in the Test.
"The second new ball did a bit. The morning session will be important. The wicket played better than our expectations in the last two sessions today,” Paras added.
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