ENG vs IND | Former Indian Cricketer slams decision to bench Ravi Ashwin

Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root powered England to a series-levelling victory over India in the fifth Test. The visitors seemed to have an upper hand in the first three days, but looked flat and timid when it mattered the most. 

Following the seven-wicket defeat, several question marks have been raised over the team selection. Ravi Ashwin’s exclusion from the playing 11 garnered a lot of attention from Day One, but has gained prominence after his absence was clearly evident in the bowling attack.

Former Indian cricketer and selector Jatin Paranjape was not impressed with the decision to drop Ravichandran Ashwin, which he thinks is similar to wasting your key resource.

The former cricketer believes that appointing Jasprit Bumrah was a correct and cautious call. "I don't think so. You can understand why they picked Bumrah as captain; the powers that be must have thought that Bumrah as a captain is a good choice. Sometimes it is better to err on the side of caution, and that in itself turns out to be a better decision,” said Jatin, as quoted by NDTV Sports.

“I thought India could have gone with two spinners”: Jatin Paranjape

Jatin Paranjape believes that although Shardul Thakur had earned his place in the playing 11, yet India could have been better off having two spinners in the side. He added that Edgbaston offered some assistance to the spinners, which would have worked in Ashwin’s favour.

"I can understand why they played Shardul, because he had done well in the Test match at The Oval where he could have been the Man of the Match. But here you had R Ashwin in the squad. It is like keeping your Ferrari parked in the garage. The colour of the wicket was not your usual English wicket and Edgbaston is known to turn a little bit, so I thought India could have gone with two spinners,” says Jatin.

Jatin Paranjape opined that going ahead with four pacers is always a tricky situation, given that one bowler will always get under-bowled. 

 “It gives you a little more control on the game if nothing is happening. Also, when you have three seamers and then you play a fourth one, someone gets under-bowled. You cannot use all four; it just doesn't come into play. But then hindsight is 20/20 vision,” Jatin continued.