Advertisment
Cricket

'Itna sach bhi nahi bolna Sunny bhai' - Fans react to Sunil Gavaskar's 'no one treated as bafflingly as Ashwin' remark

Sunil Gavaskar lashed out on the team management over Ashwin's exclusion from the Playing XI for Test Championship Final. Here's more.

author-image
Jennifer
New Update
Sunil Gavaskar lashes out over Ravichandran Ashwin's exclusion

Sunil Gavaskar lashes out over Ravichandran Ashwin's exclusion (Source: Twitter)

Two days have passed after India's crushing 209-run loss to Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, but the discussions continue as many are still reeling from yet another heartbreaking major trophy loss. Although looking back in hindsight is fantastic, games aren't decided by "what might have been." It is particularly puzzling in Ashwin's case. He is the third-highest leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded WTC cycle, has taken over 470 Test wickets, and is unquestionably the top spinner in the world. Left-handers, five of whom were in the Australian lineup, continue to fear him.

Advertisment

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who has previously lambasted the management for the contentious judgment, has launched more blows against not only the current administration of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid but also that of their predecessors Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri as the Ashwin issue continues to rage.

‘If Ashwin had been in the team, who knows what could have happened’ – Sunil Gavaskar

"India dropped Ravichandran Ashwin, the No. 1 ranked bowler in the game, according to the official rankings. The Australians had five left-handers in the team and while one leftie – Travis Head – scored a quickfire century in the first innings, another southpaw Alex Carey got a 48 in the first innings and an unbeaten 66 in the second. During that second innings effort, he also put on 93 runs with another left-hander Mitchell Starc at a time when India were looking to dismiss Australia cheaply in the second innings," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

Advertisment

"If Ashwin had been in the team, who knows what could have happened? With the bat too, he could have contributed. No other top-class Indian cricketer in the modern era has been treated as bafflingly as Ashwin has been. Tell me if there was a No. 1 ranked batter in the team, would he have been left out of the playing XI just because in earlier times he had not got runs on a grassy pitch or if he had not scored runs on a dry spin-friendly pitch? Definitely not," he added.

Here's how fans reacted:

India featured Sunil Gavaskar Ravichandran Ashwin Twitter Reactions World Test Championship (2021-23)