Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh has agreed with the popular opinion that India team management made a selection blunder and should have batted first in World Test Championship (WTC) final. Waugh said that Rohit Sharma ‘picked the wrong side’ as they failed to assess the conditions at the Kennington Oval, London.
"We made the same blunder four years ago in the Ashes. The Oval is always tricky," Waugh was quoted as saying by AAP.
"It looks green on top but underneath it is crumbly and a bit dry. You can get lulled into the overcast sky and green pitch and think it is going to do everything. As soon as the sun comes out it is totally different and dries out quickly.
"I do think (India) have picked the wrong side. Spin will play a big part in this Test match and it is going to be up and down."
In Ashes 2019, Tim Paine-led side failed to win the series 3-1 as they opted to field first at Kennington Oval. Chasing a mammoth target of 399, Australia got all out for 263 and lost the match by a big margin of 135 runs despite Matthew Wade's century.
Waugh trusts Ashwin's batting abilities
Waugh went on to say that he would have picked Ravichandran Ashwin for his batting only, let alone his off-spin prowess.
"I would have picked Ashwin for his batting, let alone his bowling. That is why I can't believe he isn't playing because he has got five Test centuries as well. It is very strange," he opined.
In the absence of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja took just one wicket in the first innings whereas Umesh Yadav remained wicketless. Steve Smith and Travis head dominated India with a 285-run partnership for the fourth wicket. After Rohit won the toss and opted to field first, Australia posted a massive first innings score of 469.
Apart from Waugh, former Indian captains Sourav Ganguly and Sunil Gavaskar also felt that Ashwin who is India’s highest wicket-taker in current WTC cycle should have been picked over a fourth pacer in conditions that will assist spin later on.
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