Shastri wants both Ashwin & Jadeja in Indian playing XI for WTC Final

Former head coach Ravi Shastri feels that Indian team should play to its strength and include both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the playing eleven against Australia in the upcoming World Test Championship final at the Oval, next month. Under Shastri’s coaching, Indian team won a Test match at the Oval in 2021 but it was largely due to performance of India’s pace attack comprising Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur apart from a classy hundred by the then vice-captain Rohit Sharma. Picking his XI for the marquee WTC Final, Shastri felt the void left by Bumrah will hurt India’s chances and they should counter it by picking another spinner to accommodate for the lack of quicks. “India did very well in England last time round because you had Bumrah, you had Shami, you had Shardul Thakur, and you had Mohammed Siraj,” Shastri said in ICC Review. “So you had four fast bowlers. One being an all-rounder there, Shardul. “That combination is a very good combination in England. Especially from India’s point of view. It allows someone like Rohit Sharma to control the game far better. At times in England, you need to slow it down as well. And suddenly it can get overcast,” he explained. For Shastri, it is important to pick players as per conditions and current form. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are a couple of years older and might be a few yards slower compared to 2021. “You have got horses for courses, you’ve got all bases covered. But then if the quality is not good in your fast-bowling attack.