‘I fail to understand…’: Sachin Tendulkar baffled by India’s decision after WTC Final defeat

The Indian team has continued their dismal run in the ICC finals after a damaging defeat at the hands of Australia. Rohit Sharma and his men lost the match by 209 runs, which means India have lost four finals in a row, which continues since 2014.

There were questions asked on team India’s selection as Ravichandran Ashwin was dropped from the team. Rohit Sharma went with four pacers and a solitary spinner in Ravindra Jadeja. There were criticisms galore after Ashwin, the no. 1 Test bowler had no place in India’s lineup.

And India’s defeat has further multiplied those questions, and Sachin Tendulkar is the latest to ask the question and express his disbelief through a tweet.

Sachin pinpoints India’s reason for the defeat

Sachin praised Steve Smith and Travis Head for their outstanding batting and asserted India’s failure in batting let them down in the match.

“@stevesmith49 and @travishead34 set a solid foundation on Day one itself to tilt the game in their favour. India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn’t,” Tendulkar tweeted.

Tendulkar baffled by Ashwin omission

And then Tendulkar raised the question on Ashwin’s omission, admitting he couldn’t understand the off-spinner’s exclusion from the team.

“There were some good moments for Team India, but I fail to understand the exclusion of @ashwinravi99 in the playing XI, who is currently the number one Test bowler in the world,” Tendulkar added in his tweet.

Ashwin, who is India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests among active bowlers, has been a stalwart across all conditions. And India missed his service big time. Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon ended up with 4 wickets in the second innings, and Ashwin could have been the same or more lethal for India.

Tendulkar was baffled by Indian team management not selecting Ashwin, especially after Australia having five left-handed batters in the team.

“Like I had mentioned before the match, skillful spinners don’t always rely on turning tracks, they use drift in the air and bounce off the surface to disguise their variations. Not to forget, Australia had 5 left-handers out of their top 8 batters,” Tendulkar’s tweet concluded.

Congratulations to Team Australia on winning the #WTCFinal. @stevesmith49 and @travishead34 set a solid foundation on Day one itself to tilt the game in their favour. India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn’t. There were some good moments…

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 11, 2023

The Indian team will be taking on West Indies in an all-format series in the Caribbean which starts in July. They will take part in 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is.