WTC Final 2023: Australia greats slam India's decision to drop number one ranked bowler Ashwin

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London, June 8: Former cricketers surprised with India's decision to drop the number one ranked Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI for the WTC Final 2023 against Australia.

Ashwin was also the top wicket-taker when Australia toured India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 earlier this year. But India decided to play four seamers with Umesh Yadav taking the seasoned off-spinner's spot in the XI.

Australian greats Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting have slammed India's decision to drop the premier off-spinner and India's leading wicket-taker in the 2021-23 WTC cycle.

"I feel that Ravichandran Ashwin is such a key factor, the leading wicket taker in the Tests cycle is not there. There are a few factors worth pondering on in Team India's perspective," Hayden told ICC after the day one's proceedings.

In the absence of Ashwin, left-armer Ravindra Jadeja is the sole spinner in the playing XI and he went wicketless as India struggled to break the 251-run partnership between Travis Head (146 batting) and Steve Smith (95 batting).

With Head's blistering century, his first in England, combined with Smith's resolute show Australia took the day one honours with 327/3 on the board.

World Cup-winning captain Ponting termed Ashwin's exclusion a "mistake". "So far for me, it looks like it was a mistake from them by playing the four seamers, but we will see how the game pans out," Ponting told the ICC.

"As this game goes on, I have got no doubt that there is going to be turn. Australia have got a lot of left-handers in their batting line-up to which Ashwin would have been perfectly suited for," he said, as Ashwin is the most successful bowler in Tests against left-handers.

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar also had questioned how a team can drop the number one ranked bolwer for a match of this magnitude and added that he would have played Ashwin over Yadav.

"India missed a trick by not playing Ravi Ashwin. He's the No. 1 Ranked bowler. You don't look at the pitch for players like him. You are playing a World Test Championships final, and you don't pick the number one bowler in Test cricket," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

"This decision from Team India is beyond my understanding. I would have picked him in place of Umesh Yadav, who was out of action and looks out of rhythm."

(With PTI inputs)