Ravichandran Ashwin’s exclusion from the playing Xi was the biggest point of discussion as the fourth Test between India and England git underway at The Oval. This was the fourth straight Test match that Ashwin has been dropped and the logic behind this has yet remained very much unanswered. In between, another shallow performance from the Indian batsman has grabbed the eyeballs as well.
While the first day’s play was on, Ravichandran Ashwin’s wife Prithi posted a video of her daughter looking towards the Oval ground with a binocular. Seeing an opportunity, she took a subtle dig at the Indian team management with the caption ” Looking for @ashwinravi99″.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s Absence Remains A Mystery
https://twitter.com/prithinarayanan/status/1433408585074200587?s=20
Ashwin ended up with 71 wickets in the first edition of the ICC World Test Championship. To see him getting benched for four Test matches straight has been baffling not only for the Indian fans but also for the former cricketers as well. Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan also spoke about Ashwin’s absence from the Indian playing XI from the Oval Test.
Poor Form Of Ajinkya Rahane Continues
Meanwhile, the Indian batsmen put up another average performance on the first day of the fourth Test. Virat Kohli scored 50 and was dismissed. Batting him none of the other batsmen has gone past 20 in the Indian innings so far.
It was another great performance from the England seamers so far. They have been consistent and disciplined like they have been throughout the series. Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes took two wickets each, while Anderson and Overton picked one each.
“For us, it’s about partnerships, we can’t focus too much on individuals. The opening partnerships have been good, it’s about getting more partnerships. We got a few days left on this tour, the series is poised nicely and there is going to be no shortage of effort from our side” said Kohli at the toss when asked about Ashwin’s exclusion at The Oval.
Also Read: ENG vs IND 2021: “Justice For Ashwin” – Twitter Reacts As India Snub Ravichandran Ashwin At Oval
