The World Test Championship (WTC) final has put forward a unique selection dilemma in front of the Indian team management. The spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja might or might not find a spot in the final playing XI. Ashwin and Jadeja have been lethal whenever they have bowled in tandem in Test cricket, having garnered 474 and 264 wickets respectively in the longest format of the game.
In fact, they shared the Man of the Series award in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy held between the two countries earlier this year. However, with a possible green top waiting for the two teams at The Oval, will the think-tank bench one of their star spinners for the all-important summit clash? Let us see how the two spinners have fared in English conditions over the years.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin has a pretty impressive bowling average of 28.11 in the seven Tests that he has played in England so far. He copped some criticism for a bit of a defensive bowling approach during the tour of 2014. However, Ashwin has arguably learned from those performances and started bowling a more attacking line in future tours.
He did not feature in the playing XI during the 2021 Test tour to England but the 18 wickets he has picked in seven games suggests that the experienced off-spinner should find a spot in the team.
The only thing that allows the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur pip Ashwin to find a spot in the side is their arguably superior batting ability. Thakur had scored an excellent half-century in the second innings of India’s win at The Oval against England in 2021 and such valuable contributions from lower down the order often prove to be the point of difference between two teams in such high-pressure matches.
Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja has not been amongst the wickets in England, as is evident from his bowling average of 46.09 after 11 Tests in the country. However, he does a fine job by holding one end up as the pacers look to make hay in favourable conditions from the other side.
Contrastingly, his batting has improved by leaps and bounds during India’s recent tours to England. He even scored a century in the fifth Test between India and England that was held at Edgbaston in July last year. Jadeja has three half-centuries and a ton at an average of 29.70 in 21 innings in England.
He has shown an incredible ability to bat smartly with the tail and the team management seems to place a lot of trust in his all-round abilities as well. India’s arguable lack of confidence in their middle order in the last few years have pushed them to play an elongated batting order, thus discarding Ashwin from the playing XI.
However, the Tamil Nadu spinner’s terrific Test record against Australia means that he could seek a spot in the team this time around. Ashwin averages 28.37 with the ball and has picked 114 wickets in 22 Tests against Australia over the years. The Indian team has a tough call to make as they chase their first ICC title in 10 years.
