Ravi Shastri wants both Ashwin and Jadeja in 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 monthUnder Shastris coaching Indian team won a Test match at the Oval in 2021 but it was largely due to performance of Indias pace attack comprising Jasprit Bumrah Mohammed Siraj Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur apart from a classy hundred by the then vicecaptain Rohit SharmaPicking his XI for the marquee WTC Final Shastri felt the void left by Bumrah will hurt Indias chances and they should counter it by picking another spinner to accommodate for the lack of quicksIndia did very well in England last time round because you had Bumrah you had Shami you had Shardul Thakur and you had Mohammed Sirajrdquo Shastri said in ICC ReviewldquoSo you had four fast bowlers One being an allrounder there ShardulThat combination is a very good combination in England especially from Indias 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 explainedFor 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 2021You have got horses for courses youve got all bases covered But then if the quality is not good in your fastbowling attack If you think the guys are older they are not as quick as they used to be and the form is a little doubtful then you play that second spinner because Ashwin is quality as is JadejaFresh from playing in the IPL fitness would be a big concern for the pacers as will be the fickle English weather Shastri feelsIndia have three spin options in their squad with experienced Ashwin and No1 ranked allrounder Jadeja joined in the 15player squad by Axar Patel who can be his likeforlike replacement if need beShastri thinks the option is there for India to select Ashwin as the only specialist spinner and use Jadeja to bat at No 6 should the pitch at The Oval look like it will offer some turn during the later stagesIf the track is hard and dry you would want two spinners to play for sure Shastri saidI think it goes a lot with the weather in England I believe its sunny now at the moment but you know English weather how it can change in the month of JuneSo theres a very good chance India will go with two spinners two fast bowlers and an allrounder That will be the combination And then therell be five batsmen and the wicketkeeper so six batsmenldquoSo if all conditions stay normal at The Oval then this would be my combination but youve got to have the quality to be able to put those guys out in the parkrdquoAs for batting Shubman Gill will become an automatic choice to partner skipper Rohit Sharma at top in absence of the injured KL RahulCheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will walk out at No 3 and No 4 respectively while the door has opened for Ajinkya Rahane to make a return to a No 5 spotExcited about the return of Rahane Shastri said the 34yearold had earned his place in the WTC FinalThe way hes Rahane timed the ball the way hes looking at T20 from a different perspective Hes not looking at the number of runs hes looking at the number of balls hes playing as against that What is the strike rate with those number of balls hes played which is good and which augurs wellrdquo Shastri said of RahaneIt just goes to show what happens when you go through the grind you go back to domestic cricket Hes earned his place in that World Test Championship side Now youll have to see closer to the event what the final XI will beShastri further stressed the need for batting focus citing the mentality of the 2021 touring partyThe application is the key in English conditions as opposed to Australia India you need to apply yourself everywhere he saidThat opening partnership between Rahul and Rohit Sharma was fabulous You know the discipline the patience that is needed to counter English conditions is the need of the hourIn England in particular the leaving game becomes very importantIn his choice of playing XI Shastri has picked keeperbatter Kona Bharat ahead of batterkeeper Ishan KishanAs for Australia its a nobrainer Shastri feltldquoTheyll go with one spinner Nathan Lyon Cameron Green the allrounder and three fast bowlers Pat Cummins Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood Shastri addedShastri India XIRohit Sharma c Shubman Gill Cheteshwar Pujara Virat Kohli Ajinkya Rahane Ravindra Jadeja KS Bharat wk Shardul Thakur Ravichandran Ashwin Mohammad Shami and Mohammed SirajAlso Read WTC Final Ind vs Aus Virat Kohli amongst first batch of players to leave for LondonThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever