"It's quite surprising that they didn't select Ashwin" - Monty Panesar on India's loss in the WTC final
Monty Panesar has expressed surprise over India picking Shardul Thakur ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The Indian team management opted to play four seamers and a solitary spinner in Ravindra Jadeja on a green top at The Oval in London. The decision didn't yield the desired results as Australia posted a mammoth first-innings total of 469 after being asked to bat first and eventually won the game by 209 runs.
During an interaction with DD India, Panesar was asked about his thoughts on India's loss to Australia on Day 5 of the WTC final, to which he responded:
"I think India performed really well with the team that they selected. It's quite surprising that they didn't select Ashwin because at The Oval, when England play Test matches here, they tend to obviously play two spinners."
The former England spinner feels India should have fielded Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in tandem in their XI, stating:
"I am surprised that India didn't play to their strengths, which was Ashwin and Jadeja together because especially with the left-handers, in the first innings when Australia scored so many runs on Day 1, I think Ashwin playing would have really helped."
India conceded 327 runs and picked up only three wickets on Day 1. Left-handed middle-order batter Travis Head took the game away from Rohit Sharma and Co., smashing an unbeaten 146 on the first day and eventually a 174-ball 163 that earned him the Player of the Match award.
"Their strength is their batting and spin bowling" - Monty Panesar says India should have batted first
Monty Panesar was further asked about India winning the toss and electing to field first, to which he replied:
"For India, their strength is their batting and spin bowling. So when they won the toss, they should have batted first and backed their players to do pretty well on these green tops. Australia won more sessions and on the first day when they won all the three sessions, it just put India on the back foot."
He added that the Australian left-handers would have preferred to play Shardul Thakur rather than Ravichandran Ashwin even on a seamer-friendly surface:
"So I thought if they could have batted first and had Ashwin in the side, that probably would have been a better option. If you ask the likes of Travis Head, David Warner and Usman Khawaja - the left-handers, who would you rather face Shardul Thakur or Ashwin, even on a green top, they will say Shardul Thakur."
Panesar concluded by reiterating that India should have played their best spinner in Ashwin. He added that England always play their best seamer in James Anderson when they go to India.