Tendulkar explains why Ashwin-Jadeja combo could work wonders in WTC Final
Mumbai, The Gulf Observer: Sachin Tendulkar opined that India should utilise both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in WTC final.
After a rigorous two months schedule of Indian Premier League (IPL), Rohit Sharma-led Team India is ready for their next assignment, which is the World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they lock horns with Australia. The match will be played at The Oval and the pitch has so far been predicted to heavily assist the seamers.
Going by that assumption many, including former Australia captain Ricky Ponting have labelled Kangaroos as the favourites. Well if we compare the sides on paper, it does appear true. Despite the last minute exclusion of Josh Hazlewood, the Aussie pace battery looks formidable and a gritty test awaits for Team India in London.
India batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, however, feels otherwise and opined that the team should utilise both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the contest.
“The Indian team will be happy that they are playing at the Oval. The nature of the Oval pitch is such that it assists the spinners as the match goes on. So, spinners will come into play a little bit.
“It need not be always a turning track as sometimes the spinners rely a lot on the bounce, sometimes that little bit of zip that they get off the pitch, also on the overhead conditions and it depends a lot on the shiny side of the ball.
“If they are able to get that drift, they can make the ball talk in the air without the pitch coming into play. So, Oval is going to be good venue for India,” noted Tendulkar in his website 100mbsports.
It will be interesting to see if India actually field both the spinners, or opt for an extra seam option in the form of Shardul Thakur.
The only thing that can go against Thakur is that the seamer was scarcely used by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the recently concluded IPL. The seamer bowled 21 overs in the 11 appearance he made in IPL 2023, during which he scalped seven wickets.
