Form of words:
New Delhi: Ravichandran Ashwin may be the No. 2 Test bowler in the official ICC rankings, but he still hasn’t found a place in India’s playing XI for the tour of England.
As the fourth Test begins at the Oval in London on Thursday, skipper Virat Kohli made some changes to the hosts in the third Test in Leeds, with Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami replacing Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. . But Ravindra Jadeja has retained his position as the only spinner/bowling all-rounder with a fit-again Thakur able to carry the batting forward.
Ashwin’s frequent non-selection along with commentator Harsha Bhogle, former England captain Michael Vaughan, former Australia all-rounder and well-travelled coach Tom Moody and politician and cricket lover Shashi Tharoor became a hot topic of discussion on social media. .
I really hope it works out but I am surprised that India have gone without Ashwin again.
— harsha bhogle (@bhogleharsha) 2 September 2021
do not choose @ashwinravi99 Should be the biggest non selection we’ve seen in 4 Tests in the UK!!! 413 Test Wickets and 5 Test Centuries!!!! #Engwind Madness …
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) 2 September 2021
surprised to see @ashwinravi99 I believe India’s XI has enough space for spinners and 3 specialist fast bowlers. @root66 Will carry out this attack once again! #Engwind
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) 2 September 2021
I can’t believe he dropped Ashwin again on England’s most spin friendly ground. This team is incredible. You pick your five best bowlers, @ashwinravi99 Must be first or second name. leaving him and @MdShami11 In the Oval is like a death wish – as if you want to lose!
— Shashi Tharoor (@shashi tharoor) 2 September 2021
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Ashwin’s track record
The 34-year-old Ashwin has played 79 Test matches so far and has taken 413 wickets, making him fourth in India’s all-time wicket-takers list after Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh. In fact, Ashwin is just four wickets away from Harbhajan’s tally of 417.
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder has also scored 2,685 Test runs with five centuries at an average of 27.68.
In contrast, 32-year-old Jadeja has played 55 Tests, taking 223 wickets and scoring 2118 runs at 34.72, with a lone Test century.
Against England, both in that country and India, Ashwin has played 19 Tests so far, taking 88 wickets, while Jadeja has taken 47 wickets in 15 Tests. This shows that Ashwin has been a much more aggressive option than Jadeja. On the batting front too, Ashwin likes the England attack, which has 970 runs with one hundred and six fifties to his name, while Jadeja has amassed 645 runs with five half-centuries.
(Edited by Shreyas Sharma)
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