IND vs AUS WTC Final: Why World's No.1 Test Bowler R Ashwin Isn't Playing IND vs AUS WTC Final In England

Ravichandran Ashwin won Player of the series award in IND vs AUS Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won 2-1 against Australia earlier this year.

IND vs AUS WTC Final 2023 Playing XI: The opening day of IND vs AUS World Test Championship (WTC) final is being played between India and Australia on Wednesday (June 7). India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Indian team management prefered pace all-rounder Shardul Thakur over World's number one Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin in India's playing XI for WTC Final against Australia. During the toss, Rohit Sharma said it was a tough decision to bench veteran Ashwin, calling him a big match-winner.

Notably, senior Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken 18 wickets in 7 Test matches in England. He has so far played 22 Tests against Australia, picking 114 wickets at an average of 28.36.

Ashwin won Player of the series award in IND vs AUS Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won 2-1 against Australia earlier this year. The 36-year-old bagged maximum 25 wickets in this series. Despite being in red-hot form in his recent outing against the Aussies, Indian team management decided to bench him for IND vs AUS WTC Final. Ashwin's omission from India's Playing XI vs Australia has come as a shocker for many. 

R Ashwin benched for sixth consecutive Test in England: Ashwin has been ignored for India XI for sixth consecutive Test in England. Back in 2021, Ashwin wasn't included in India XI for IND vs ENG 5-match Test series. 

"We are going to bowl. Just the conditions and also the weather being overcast. I don't think the pitch will change too much. You have to play good cricket and come out on top. Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is Jadeja. It's always tough (to leave Ashwin), he's been a match-winner for us over the course of so many years. But you got to do the things that's needed for the team and eventually we came up with that decision. He (Rahane) brings a lot of experience, he's played 80-odd Test matches and he's done well for the team. He's been out for a while but I don't think the experience that he has can change all of that," said Rohit.

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj