Ace India spinner R Ashwin continued to speak about the team’s heartbreaking loss in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC 2023) to Australia at the Oval, touching on the subject of his exclusion from the Indian playing XI for the encounter.
The loss prolonged India's wait for another ICC trophy as the team incurred a second successive defeat in a WTC final.
Speaking on his YouTube show, Ashwin started by congratulating the Pat Cummins-led side, opining that the team “thoroughly deserved” to win the final where they did have a “small advantage”.
He said: “Congratulations Australia! It was a fantastic final and they completely deserve the win. There was a small advantage although a few players like Marnus Labuschagne played a couple of matches in county cricket. That was a small one because in a one-Test shootout, you can't say who will do what, but they thoroughly deserved it. Even in the last WTC cycle, they missed qualifying for the finals only by a whisker. They have been a consistent Test team like India.”
Ashwin then spoke about the time MS Dhoni was Indian captain and how his secret to success as a leader was the sense of security he gave to his players, by playing with the same players throughout the year.
“It is understandable that there's a furor in India that we haven't won an ICC trophy in 10 years. I empathize with the fans. But the reaction on social media is that this player should be dropped and that player should be included. But the quality of a player doesn't change overnight.
A lot of us talk about MS Dhoni's leadership. What did he do? He kept it very simple. Under his regime, where I also played, he will pick a squad of 15. The same squad of 15 and the XI will play throughout the year. That sense of security is very important for a player,” he said.
India had last won an ICC trophy under MS Dhoni’s captaincy when they lifted the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, defeating the hosts in the final.
