‘I Should’ve Never Become A Bowler’: Ashwin’s Distressing Remark After India Lost WTC Final

The No. 1 ranked Test bowler, Ravichandran Ashwin, was left out of the India XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia last week at The Oval, angering India icons Sunil Gavaskar and captain Rohit Sharma. Despite the odds, Ashwin had certainly faced the chop on foreign soil before, and Gavaskar had not always offered the bowler his backing. Gavaskar has already explained a specific “horses for courses” rule that only applies to bowlers during the series in Australia in 2021. Ashwin responded to Gavaskar’s tirade one week after the sad WTC final snub.

Ashwin can be a better batter than a bowler

In his column for Sportstar, the former India captain cited Ashwin as an example to explain that if the bowler fails to perform as per his standards, he is immediately dropped from the next game, while the same does not apply to a batter.

“For far too long, Ashwin has suffered not for his bowling ability, of which only the churlish will have doubts, but for his forthrightness and speaking his mind at meetings where most others just nod even if they don’t agree. If Ashwin doesn’t take heaps of wickets in one game, he is invariably sidelined for the next one. That does not happen to established batsmen, though,” Gavaskar had written. “That’s Indian cricket. Different rules for different people If you don’t believe me, ask Ravi Ashwin and T. Natarajan.”

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Ashwin on Gavaskar

Speaking to Sportstar in the wake of the WTC final snub, Ashwin was asked in an interview whether Gavaskar was right about the rule. The veteran offie explained with a Sachin Tendulkar example before revealing that, on retirement, he would regret not having been a better batter.