• Home
  • Player Stories
  • Ashwin Or Jadeja Indias T20 Wc Winning Keeper Picks His Spinner For Wtc Final

Ashwin Or Jadeja? India's T20 WC Winning Keeper Picks His Spinner For WTC Final


image-lf9ammphAshwin-Jadeja duo has been prolific for India on home soil (Twitter)

Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has opined that the skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid ought not to shy away from the decision of choosing only one of Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja for the upcoming World Test Championship Final against Australia, which is slated to take place from June 7 at the Oval in London.

The wicketkeeper-batter has also suggested that left-arm spinner Axar Patel, might miss out if Ashwin and Jadeja are both fit. He stated that Shardul Thakur could potentially replace Axar in the playing XI.

"To be brutally honest if everybody is fit, especially if Ashwin and Jadeja are fit, you will have to say that Axar will miss out. I think Shardul will take his place," Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

During the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the spin trio of India comprising Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar exhibited an excellent performance. The right-arm off-spinner emerged as the highest wicket-taker with 25 scalps, while Jadeja and Australia's Nathan Lyon jointly secured the second position with 22 wickets.

Although Axar did not bowl much, his lower-order contributions with the bat turned out to be a decisive factor in the series. He scored 264 runs in five innings at an average of 88 and was the only Indian batter to register three fifty-plus scores in the four Tests.

Karthik further speculated that it might be arduous for Ashwin and Jadeja to play together, considering the conditions. He elaborated that if the pitch favours pacers, and the weather conditions are overcast, which is highly probable, then Rohit and Dravid should contemplate picking only one of the spinners.

“It's a year-end match for a lot of the players in many ways as after that there will be a fresh cycle. So you have to go into the match thinking 'what is my best XI to win that game?' If that means leaving Ashwin or Jadeja out, so be it. We've always seen Jadeja get the nod ahead because he can bat better," Karthik concluded.

Hence, the team must approach the match with a winning mentality and select their best squad, even if it means leaving out Ashwin or Jadeja. Karthik further highlighted that Jadeja's superior batting ability may give him an edge over Ashwin in the selection process.