'Time for our bowlers to crack the Duke ball' - Twitter reacts as India drops Ravi Ashwin for Shardul Thakur

The wait is over as India's World Test Championship Final against Australia kicked off at The Oval, London. Given the conditions at the venue and the nature of the surface, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opted for a fourth fast bowling option in medium-pacer Shardul Thakur, meaning there was no place for veteran offie Ravichandran Ashwin in the starting eleven. Ravindra Jadeja will be the sole spinner for the Asian outfit in the summit clash.

Ever since the pictures from the venue surfaced online, the Asian giants were in a selection dilemma, whether to go with their trusted bowling combination of three pacers and two spinners or switch things up by including an extra pacer, influenced by the conditions at the Oval. Coming to the toss, the Indian skipper elected to bowl first, quite expectedly, on a greenish surface. 

The selection of medium-pacer Shardul Thakur was a no-brainer as he has a track record of providing breakthroughs for the Indian team in crucial junctures of the matches. While he can be an invaluable asset on a bowling-friendly deck with his ability to move the new ball, Shardul can also chip in with vital runs lower down the order for Rohit's team.

While the Asian outfit were expected to nod in favour of an extra seamer in place of Ashwin, skipper Rohit Sharma had mentioned that all 15 players should be ready, refraining to spill the beans on the playing combination ahead of the clash. However, Rohit did reveal at the toss that it was a tough decision to drop the skilful off-spinner as he has been a proven match-winner for the Indian team.

Meanwhile, Pat Cummins led Australia also went with a solitary frontline spinner in Nathan Lyon, with Scott Boland replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood in the starting eleven.

NANI@NAVINVJY

Ashwin is the one of the main reason for India reaching the finals #WTCFinal2023 #INDvsAUS

02:41 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Ian Higgins@1an_Higgins

Ashwin being the #1 Test bowler and not playing…. again… sums it up doesn’t it? #1 where? Who’s good? Who is good where? What does any of this mean? This isn’t even Devon Conway’s favourite thing

02:50 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Will Macpherson@willis_macp

Great fun to have a Test played on neutral ground. Oval buzzing as it fills up. India bowling, Ashwin left out

02:49 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Bhawana@bhawnakohli5

Expected India XI except that Thakur is playing and Ashwin is out but I think conditions played a huge role here, we are going with 4 seamers and a spinner. A good toss to win. Time for our bowlers to crack the new duke ball, Come on India 🇮🇳

02:43 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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BCCI@BCCI

🚨 A look at #TeamIndia's Playing XI 🔽 Follow the match ▶️ bit.ly/AUSvIND-2023-W… #WTC23

02:38 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Johns.@CricCrazyJohns

Ravichandran Ashwin not playing in WTC final.

02:34 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Mufaddal Vohra@mufaddal_vohra

Ravindra Jadeja is the spinner! No Ravi Ashwin for India.

02:34 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Aakash Chopra@cricketaakash

No OTT happiness on winning the toss and bowling…chasing in the 4th innings is always tricky. Important to not just restrict Australia in the first innings…but also, score big in the first innings with the bat too. #WTCFinal #AusvInd

02:43 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Chennai Super Kings@ChennaiIPL

RO wins the toss! Bowling first @ Oval! Time to #Whistle4Blue 🇮🇳

02:50 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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Test Match Special@bbctms

We’re on air for the World Test Championship Final. India win the toss & put Australia into bat. India leave out the number 1 ranked Test bowler in the World @ashwinravi99. #BBCCricket #WTC2023Final

02:49 PM · Jun 07, 2023

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