'Should never have become a bowler': Ravichandran Ashwin gets emotional on WTC Final snub

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Ravichandran has been cursing his decision to become a bowler after being dropped from the playing eleven of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval in London.

The 36-year-old veteran off-spinner was benched as India went into the match with spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and four pacers. The Indian team management was slammed and questioned by experts and cricketing greats for the shock decision.

In a recent interview with 'The Indian Express', the Tamil Nadu cricketer revealed that he opted to become a bowler after watching Indian bowlers of the past not being able to defend the runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar.

Ashwi, who has five Test hundreds to his name, then added how he regrets his decision to bowl despite having the potential to become a fine batter. Ashwin said he would move on from yet another stumbling block in his career.

“This is a true story… One day, I was watching the India-Sri Lanka game and India’s bowling was in tatters. My favourite was Sachin Tendulkar, and whatever runs he used to make, we used to leak those runs with the ball.

"I used to think one day, I must be a bowler. Can’t I be better than the bowlers that are there currently? This is a very childish way to think, but that is how I thought and that is why I started bowling off-spin. This is where it began,” Ashwin told The Indian Express.

"However, tomorrow, when I hang up my boots, the first thing I will regret is having been such a fine batter. I should have never become a bowler,” Ashwin said. “It’s (being dropped from WTC final) just a stumbling block, I’ll move on because I have gone through that. When somebody knocks you down for the first time, you have a knee-jerk reaction," he added.

In the WTC Final 2023, India leaked 469 runs in the first innings and the bowlers have no answers to the brilliance of Steve Smith and Travis Head who scored a hundred each and stitched a 285-run partnership for the fourth.

Chasing 444, India were bundled out for 234. Ashwin's Australian counterpart Nathan Lyon picked four wickets in the second innings.