As the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) is just a few days away, all the fans and experts of the game keep themselves busy by predicting their XIs for the upcoming Test match between India and New Zealand.
Former India cricketer VVS Laxman is one of them as the batsman revealed that he wants to see both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the XI against New Zealand in his recent interaction with Sports Tak.
“I will definitely play both the spinners because what Ravindra Jadeja has shown in the recent past is he is not just a batsman who can play cameos but he can play big knocks, especially under pressure. I still remember the partnership he had with Ajinkya Rahane when the chips were down in Melbourne. Unfortunately, he got injured after that,” Laxman said.
The right-hand batsman disagreed with Sanjay Manjrekar who felt that Ashwin was not an all-time great and also pointed out that the off-spinner has consistently won matches for India.
“And R Ashwin is a top-class off-spinner. There is no doubt he is one of the greats of the game. The way in which he has consistently won matches for India, not only but home, in the recent tour of Australia, is an example of his ability overseas.”
“The way he restricted the run flow of the Australian batsmen, the way he set Steve Smith out and got him out quite consistently shows he is high on confidence,” the 46-year-old said.
The WTC final between Virat Kohli-led Team India and Kane Williamson’s New Zealand at Southampton is scheduled to begin from June 18.
(With Sports Tak Inputs)
