Dinesh Karthik Urges Team to leave out Ashwin for WTC Final

image-lik799zmRavi Ashwin picked 25 Australian wickets in 2023 home series (Twitter)

Dinesh Karthik wants the Indian team management to bench Ravichandran Ashwin for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval against Australia. The cricketer-cum-commentator is of the opinion that Rohit Sharma’s troops should take field with four pacers instead.


Karthik backs Umesh Yadav to play WTC final

Karthik believes Ravichandran Ashwin will not have much role to play in the WTC final, citing the pacer-friendly conditions on offer at the venue. The cricketer-cum-commentator suggested that the Indian team should rather take field with a four-pronged pace attack, by including Umesh Yadav into the mix with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj.

While speaking on Cricbuzz, the 38-year-old cricketer said:

"Leave out Ashwin and play four pacers. I enjoyed Ashwin bowling in Southampton, but - is the coach gonna do the same thing again? I doubt it."

Karthik further praised Umesh Yadav’s rhythm and fitness as evidenced by his recent nets training sessions along with the rest of his teammates. He stated:

"Umesh Yadav has bowled well in the nets. He is looking sharp, and feeling good body-wise."

Interestingly, Yadav was one of the standout performers for India in their emphatic Test win at The Oval back in 2021. The speedster snared six wickets in the contest, and shared the new-ball with Jasprit Bumrah, while Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami served as two other pacers of the match-winning line-up.

Meanwhile, Team India, under Virat Kohli, had opted for two spinners in the playing XI during the 2021 WTC final at Lord’s. The decision backfired big time as Team India went down to eventual victors New Zealand by eight wickets on the reserved sixth day.

The upcoming WTC 2023 final is set to be played between June 7 and June 11 at The Oval in London. The conditions at the venue are somewhat similar to that of Lord’s, which might prompt current Indian Test skipper Rohit Sharma to go with four fast bowlers this time around.