Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin played an instrumental role in helping India clinch the just concluded Border-Gavaskar series 2-1. The dazzling duo were also jointly adjudged the Player of the Series for their exceptional performances. Jadeja (22)-Ashwin (25) combined to snared 47 wickets in the four-match series. They are also expected to play a massive role in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-2023 final against Australia which will be held at the Oval in London from June 7 to June 11.
Amid the WTC final hype, India's veteran batter Dinesh Karthik has given a big statement on India's playing XI for the final showdown at the Oval. Karthik believes that Axar Patel will have to miss out of India's final XI in the WTC final given the the pace-friendly conditions at Oval. The 37-year-old star wicketkeeper-batter thinks Shardul Thakur could be a better choice for the ultimate battle and is likely to feature in India's final XI.
"To be brutally honest if everybody is fit, especially if Ashwin and Jadeja are fit, you will have to say that Axar will miss out. I think Shardul will take his place," Karthik told Cricbuzz.
Karthik also stressed on the importance of best playing XI even if that comes at the expense of missing out Ashwin or Jadeja out of the game.
"Absolutely (India might play either Ashwin or Jadeja). To be honest, that's where the Indian team made a mistake last time playing both spinners and they didn't bowl them much. It's a one-off game. You can't look at it in the bigger scheme of things. It's a year-end match for a lot of the players in many ways as after that there will be a fresh cycle. So you have to go into the match thinking 'what is my best XI to win that game?' If that means leaving Ashwin or Jadeja out, so be it. We've always seen Jadeja get the nod ahead because he can bat better," Karthik further added.
It will be interesting to see whether both Jadeja and Ashwin can co-exist in India's final XI for the summit clash.
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