Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has backed the experienced spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Left Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the World Test Championship final. He is expecting them to perform well in the grand stage at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
Before the first-ever World Test Championship final clash against New, Zealand fans were expecting changes in the Indian playing XI lineup. The main reason behind this thinking was conditioned at Southampton, where pitch support more Pacers and India has only 3 Pacers alongside spinner Jadeja and Ashwin. However, India has shown confidence in the spinner and didn’t make any changes in the lineup.
In a pre-match interview with Star Sports ( the official broadcasters ), Head coach Ravi Shastri pinpointed that even though the current conditions look pacer friendly, the spinners would play an important role when Sun comes out during the latter part of the match.
While appreciating the brilliant performance of spin in Test cricket, Ravi Shastri said:
“On a day like this it helps the fast bowlers get help, but when the sun comes out the spinners would come into play. Jadeja and Ashwin add that variety and they bowl well in tandem. They have close to 600-700 wickets and complement each other really well.”
WTC Final is the big daddy of all World Cups: Ravi Shastri
In the later part of the same interview with Star Sports, Ravi Shastri talked about the importance of the World Test Championship Final. He was part of many big events in cricket like the 1983 ODI World Cup & the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup, both as a player and as a commentator.
In the eye of Shastri, The World Test Championship is the grandest stage of them all in cricket.
“It’s the big daddy of all World Cups. I’ve played the 1983 World Cup, commentated on a few of them but this one is the biggest of them all. It’s the toughest format, the biggest format, and the job satisfaction is maximum. There are a lot of big players who’ve not got their hands on a World Cup, so playing in a big final is always special,” Ravi Shastri added.
