India played Australia in the WTC Final 2023 at the Oval and the surprising thing was that there was no mention of Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing eleven. (More Cricket News)
India went with a seam bowling attack alongside all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The decision (of leaving out Ashwin) was widely debated before India came up short in their second successive WTC final.
When asked about missing out on the WTC Final, Ashwin was naturally disappointed.
"I've spoken about it. It's very tough as a cricketer when you have a shot at the WTC final and end up sitting out. But what is the difference between me and another person if I also end up sulking in the dressing room.
"When we went to the WTC final, I was mentally prepared to play. I had prepared physically and mentally, planned for the game, everything. But, I was also prepared to not play the game.
"If I'm not playing, how do I respond? How do I make sure the dressing room is really up and about. Winning the WTC final is the most important thing, it could be a very high point in my career and I would have played a good role in it. It was just unfortunate, it didn't pan out. The first day just left us too much behind in the shed.
"All I'd like to give to my teammates and Indian cricket as a whole is some understanding and my best efforts on the field and I'd like to leave it at that," he said.
India went onto lose the final by 209 runs as the Indian batting-order collapsed bar a few.
