Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar expressed his astonishment over veteran off-spinner R Ashwin’s omission from India’s playing XI for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia.

Tendulkar’s comment came after India succumbed to a heavy 209-run defeat in the marquee clash at The Oval on Sunday (June 11).

Ashwin, who occupies No. 1 position in the ICC Test bowling rankings, was left out of the playing XI as India went with the combination of four pacers and a spinner in Ravindra Jadeja.

The move to drop Ashwin triggered an outrage and Tendulkar also found it baffling.

"India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn't. There were some good moments for Team India, but I fail to understand the exclusion of Ashwin in the playing XI, who is currently the number one Test bowler in the world," Tendulkar tweeted.

The Rohit Sharma-led side picked four pacers for the WTC final looking at the overcast conditions but failed to make the most of it despite winning the toss and bowling first.

Australia rode on centuries from Travis Head (163) and Steve Smith (121) to pile up 469 in their first essay. In response, India’s innings folded for 296 as they conceded a healthy lead of 173 runs.

Australia declared their second innings at 270/8 to set a huge target of 444. However, Indian batting once again crumbled under pressure and got bowled out for 234 in the final innings.

Sachin Tendulkar further pointed out that skilful spinners like Ashwin don’t rely on turning pitches to get wickets.

"Like I had mentioned before the match, skilful spinners don't always rely on turning tracks, they use drift in the air and bounce off the surface to disguise their variations. Not to forget, Australia had 5 left-handers out of their top 8 batters."

Notably, Ashwin finished the WTC 2021-23 cycle with 61 wickets from 13 Tests. Overall, he has 474 Test scalps to his name from 92 matches.