Oval’s pitch is deceiving
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh said, ‘We made the same mistake four years ago in the Ashes. The pitch at The Oval is always a tricky one. It looks green, but is dry from inside. You get deceived by seeing a green pitch, but when the sun shines, it completely falls apart and dries up fast.
Would have picked Ashwin for batting
He said that Ashwin could have been selected not only for his bowling but also for his batting. According to Waugh, ‘I would have chosen Ashwin for his batting only. I can’t believe he is not playing when he has scored five Test hundreds. This is strange. Ravindra Jadeja was selected in the Indian team in place of Ashwin, the highest wicket-taker for India in the WTC cycle 2021-2023.
Similar views were also expressed by former Australian spinner Brad Hogg. Hogg said, ‘India took a decision and they should have kept Ashwin on whatever pitch they got. Indian bowlers have come after playing IPL. He hasn’t bowled long spells. Ashwin and Adeja could hold one end and take the pressure off the fast bowlers at the other end when they run out of energy.