His poor fitness
Ashwin had started off well in England, picking seven wickets in the first Test, but then his performance dropped like dominoes falling and something that contributed to this was a groin injury that he picked up in the second Test.

It hampered his pivot at the pitch which left him with less spin and dips on the ball and he was beaten by Moeen Ali, who wasn’t even considered England’s first choice spinner in the 4^th Test, as Ali picked 9 wickets in the match to earn the Man of the Match award on a spinning pitch as compared to Ashwin’s three.

Ashwin has already been under fire for his poor fielding skills. He was at one time a very good slips fielder but hasn’t fielded in that position to save his fingers from damage and in the outfield, he looks slow and labored.

Given that all the four grounds in Australia which will host the Tests against India are huge, Ashwin’s fielding will only be a negative for Indian team and in his place, a young or agile fielder like Ravindra Jadeja or someone else might be able to save 15-20 runs in the Test match and will also be a safe bet fitness wise.