India will taking on Australia in the WTC final at the Oval from June 7. While India are playing their second consecutive WTC final, this will be Australia’s maiden appearance.
Dubai: After their spin web broke the Australian backbone in the Border Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, former head coach Ravi Shastri felt both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin should be in the Indian playing XI in the upcoming World Test Championship final.
India will taking on Australia in the WTC final at the Oval from June 7. While India are playing their second consecutive WTC final, this will be Australia’s maiden appearance. With no Jasprit Bumrah this time due to injury, Shastri felt India should counter the situation by picking another spinner to accomodate for the lack of pacers.
“India did very well in England last time round because you had Bumrah, you had Shami, you had Shardul Thakur, and you had Mohammed Siraj,” Shastri said in ICC Review. “So you had four fast bowlers. One being an all-rounder there, Shardul.
“That combination is a very good combination in England. Especially from India’s point of view. It allows someone like Rohit Sharma to control the game far better. At times in England, you need to slow it down as well. And suddenly it can get overcast,” he explained.
Both Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav played in the inugural final against New Zealand in 2021. Shastri said it is important to pick players as per conditions and current form and felt Shami and Yadav are a couple of years older and be a few yards slower compared to 2021.
“You have got horses for courses, you’ve got all bases covered. But then if the quality is not good in your fast-bowling attack. If you think the guys are older, they are not as quick as they used to be, and the form is a little doubtful, then you play that second spinner because Ashwin is quality, as is Jadeja,” he added.
Fresh from playing in the IPL, fitness would be a big concern for the pacers as will be the fickle English weather, Shastri feels. India have three spin options in their squad, with experienced Ashwin and No.1 ranked all-rounder Jadeja joined in the 15-player squad by Axar Patel, who can be his like-for-like replacement if need be.
Shastri thinks the option is there for India to select Ashwin as the only specialist spinner and use Jadeja to bat at No 6 should the pitch at The Oval look like it will offer some turn during the later stages.
“If the track is hard and dry, you would want two spinners to play for sure,” Shastri said. “I think it goes a lot with the weather in England. I believe it’s sunny now at the moment, but you know, English weather, how it can change in the month of June.
“So there’s a very good chance India will go with two spinners, two fast bowlers and an all-rounder. That will be the combination. And then there’ll be five batsmen and the wicket-keeper, so six batsmen.
“So if all conditions stay normal at The Oval, then this would be my combination, but you’ve got to have the quality to be able to put those guys out in the park,” he added.
Ravi Shastri’s India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj.
