“You could have easily played Ashwin if you had batted first,” says Aakash Chopra of India’s strategies in the WTC 2023 Final defeat.

Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricketer, believes that Team India’s decision to leave Ravichandran Ashwin out of their playing XI for the 2023 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final was one of their greatest errors. India suffered a demoralising 209-run loss to Australia in the WTC final at The Oval in London on June 11.

India elected to bowl first after winning the toss, deploying four seamers and one spinner, Ravindra Jadeja. The captain’s decision backfired as Travis Head’s (163 off 174) and Steve Smith’s (121 off 266) magnificent centuries resulted in India conceding 469 runs in the initial innings. India scored only 296 runs in their first innings, while Australia proclaimed their second innings at 270/8 when they declared their innings. In pursuit of a 444-run target, however, Rohit Sharma and co. were bowled out for 234 on the final day.

While evaluating the match on his YouTube channel, Chopra focused on India’s errors during the one-off test. According to the former Indian opener, a comprehensive analysis of the match indicates that India should have elected to bat first. He added that India may have batted with three fast bowlers and two spinners who are both capable of batting.

“After winning the toss, you presumably should have batted first in this match. If you had batted, you would have had three fast bowlers and two spinners, both of whom can bat,” Aakash Chopra explained.

The 45-year-old continued by stating that India could have substituted Ashwin for Shardul Thakur. He stated that Thakur could have been the fourth fast bowler on the team, as he does not consider him to be the third seamer.

“In that case, you could have selected Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav/Jaydev Unadkat/Shardul Thakur. Shardul will not serve as my team’s third fast bowler. He can serve as the team’s fourth fast bowler. Shardul is not, in my opinion, a third-fast bowler. “I don’t know if it’s right or wrong, but that’s how I feel,” he continued.

Shardul’s performance in every facet of the one-off test validated his selection. In the first innings of Australia’s innings, the seam-bowling all-rounder took two crucial wickets, dismissing opener David Warner and century-maker Steve Smith. The 31-year-old also scored 51 runs during India’s first inning, giving them a chance to make a comeback.