The exclusion of premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the India team for the World Test Championship final against Australia has drawn analysis from Australian cricket legends Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting.

Ashwin, India’s leading wicket-taker in the 2021-23 WTC cycle and currently the top-ranked Test bowler, was left out as the team led by Rohit Sharma chose to field four seamers to improve their pace attack.

Hayden and Ponting voiced their disapproval of India’s decision, pointing to the questionable move of not having Ashwin.

“I feel that Ravichandran Ashwin  is such a key factor, the leading wicket taker in the Tests cycle is not there. There are a few factors worth pondering on in Team India’s perspective,”

Hayden told ICC after the day one’s proceedings. 

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is the only spinner in the playing XI without Ashwin. He took no wickets as India struggled to break the 251-run partnership between Steve Smith and Travis Head (146 batting).

With 327/3 on the board, Australia won day one with Head’s blistering century, his first in England, and Smith’s determined performance.

World Cup-winning skipper Ponting called Ashwin’s rejection a “mistake”

“So far for me, it looks like it was a mistake from them by playing the four seamers, but we will see how the game pans out,” Ponting told the ICC.

“As this game goes on, I have got no doubt that there is going to be a turn. Australia have got a lot of left-handers in their batting line-up to which Ashwin would have been perfectly suited for,”

he said, as Ashwin is the most successful bowler in Tests against left-handers.

After winning the toss, there was also discussion regarding Rohit’s “bowl-first” decision, and Hayden suggested that the Indian captain might have “missed a trick.”

“I feel they may have missed a trick at the toss. Even if Pat Cummins said he would have liked to bowl, I secretly think Australia always likes to bat first in Tests. I feel like Rohit Sharma was caught thinking that we’re going to play the day rather than playing the Test match.”

he further added.

Head was the aggressive player on day one, scoring 146 runs in just 156 deliveries as he attacked the Indian attack as the wicket got easier.

Hayden and Ponting contrasted Head likewise with the partner and unbelievable wicketkeeper hitter Adam Gilchrist after he swung the force in support of Australia in ‘A definitive Test’.

“It was a classical Travis Head attacking style. One of the things in this Championship cycle is that Head not only scored over 1000 runs but he did at a strike rate of 80-plus,”

Hayden said 

“That’s really hard to do when you are playing a tournament of such pressure, and also you are under enormous pressure because of the atmospheric conditions. But he finds a way to get this terrific strike rate. He is almost like Adam Gilchrist was in his day, somehow able to put so much pressure on opposition simply because they do not know where to bowl,”

Hayden added.

During his illustrious Test career, Gilchrist had a strike rate of 81.95, and Head is moving in the same direction, scoring at a similar rate during Australia’s World Test Championship.

“He probably is (similar to Gilchrist). In fact he is probably scoring quicker now than Gilly probably ever did,”  

“His strike-rate through this (World Test Championship) qualification period is 81, which is higher than anyone else in the world to have scored more than 500 runs.”

Ponting said.

SHAMI AND CO ERRED IN THEIR LENGTH 

Ponting further said India’s pacers erred with their length early against Head.

“I think when he first comes in you need to execute perfectly to him. It is no good trying to over attack him because if you bowl any bad ball, he is going to put it away. They will learn by the way they bowled to him in this first innings, and they will definitely adjust in this second innings, but sometimes it is too late.” 

Ponting noted.

With the sixteenth release of the Indian Premier League (IPL) reaching an end, all streets currently lead to The Oval as Rohit Sharma‘s team India is good to go to make their re-visitation of worldwide cricket for A definitive Test. This week at the Oval, Rohit’s Team India, the newly ranked No. 1 team in red-ball cricket, will play Australia, coached by Pat Cummins, in the ICC World Test Championship final. Team India, who finished second in the previous edition of the ICC World Test Championship, will be eager to end their long-running title drought at ICC events.

When the legendary MS Dhoni was in charge, the two-time world champions last won an ICC trophy. In 2013, the Men in Blue were led to victory in the Champions Trophy by the former India skipper. The Asian giants have not won a single trophy in ICC competitions since then. India were defeated by most outstanding adversaries Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy Final. After that, New Zealand stunned the Men in Blue in the ODI World Cup semi-final. In the past T20 World Cup, India were pounded by possible heroes England in the semi-finals.

What is preventing India from overcoming the final obstacle in ICC competitions? Can Team India defeat Australia to win a major ICC trophy this season? Matthew Hayden, a legendary Australian opener, stated that the team’s absence from ICC competitions is more of a “mindset” problem.

“It’s certainly not a question of skill. So, it has to be a question of just the opportunity and the mindset going in. I mean, cricket is life here, it is the DNA of sport and has no other competitors. In Australia I could walk down the street and largely be unrecognized, especially with this terrible beard and hat on (laughs). But it’s also got great competitive sports besides cricket. Rugby, football, our water sports, surfing, outdoor sports, here in India it’s very insular and there’s a lot of pressure,”

Hayden told PTI.

Hayden’s advice to Team India

The legendary Australian opener is of the opinion that neither team has an advantage going into the final, which is scheduled to take place from June 7 to June 11 at the Oval in London. Hayden also has some interesting advice for Rohit’s Team India ahead of the World Test Championship final, citing the recent success of IPL giants Gujarat Titans (GT), Mumbai Indians (MI), and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

“It’s the same with Pakistan cricket as well. There is one sport and it is cricket so it’s a mindset thing. Being cautious about looking for the scoreboard and looking for the titles and just playing and being a part of the process, something when you look at franchise setups, Gujarat Titans have done really well this year and CSK have done very well. Mumbai Indians as well believe in a certain process. So, that would be my advice to Indian cricket to forget the outcomes, but buy into the process,”

Hayden said.

‘Shubman Gill will be a superstar of any cricket format’

Additionally, the former CSK star made a significant statement regarding Shubman Gill’s rise. After a successful IPL 2023 season, India opener Gill has arrived in London. The Orange Cap winner and IPL Player of the Tournament has also made a name for himself in the Indian lineup across formats by playing a string of stunning knocks for Team India.

“You will see a lot of Shubman Gill for the next 15 years. The foundations behind a good Test cricketer are pretty simple. And Shubman, and KL Rahul before him, fundamentally have fantastic games. So, he’ll be a superstar of any cricket format for a very long time. One of the biggest advantages that Shubman has and he showed this when he was touring Australia is he’s very good off the backfoot as well. So square of wicket play is excellent. And that’ll stand him in good stead even against the best Test sides in the world,”

Hayden added.

Team India decided to go into the first T20I match against Australia in Mohali on Tuesday (September 20) with Dinesh Karthik as the specialist keeper and ‘finisher’ for the side ahead of Rishabh Pant. Karthik, however, fizzled with the bat – scoring just six – and furthermore wrecked several DRS calls which proved costly for Rohit Sharma’s side as they lost the first game by four wickets.

Presently, former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has scrutinised Karthik’s role in the side, questioning the absence of batting opportunities that the Royal Challengers Bangalore batter is getting. 

 “I was just thinking about the role of Dinesh (Karthik). This role Dinesh is playing now, for the life of me, I can’t work out why he wouldn’t be in their batting now. It doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever. See, I don’t want to give the impression that I’m disrespecting Dinesh Karthik, but he should be batting more-it’s actually the opposite,”

Hayden said on air during the 1st T20I in Mohali.

The former Australian opener said that despite the fact that Axar Patel might have shown huge accreditations with the bat recently, Karthik ought to get more ball time. 

“I think he is such a good player that he can come in and play this exact same shot. I question the role that he is playing as a finisher. I think there is a role for him to come up the order,”

he added.

Talking exclusively on Star Sports show ‘Match Point’, Hayden talked about who his star performer for Australia in the 1st T20I against India was and whether India can adhere to their ongoing death bowling regime ahead of the second and third T20Is later this week.

“Green, he has been a really big asset for Australian Cricket for a couple of years now. He’s a genuine all-rounder. I just think he’s such a huge part of the future of Australian cricket. So it doesn’t really surprise me, he’s very capable, he’s a big man with good skills. He looked a little bit disappointing with the ball, but it’s a tough place to bowl,”

Hayden said.

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With debate being started on whether Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is adept enough to bowl the death overs for India, 

“I disagree with that, I think he can and has been a very good finisher. I think that’s his role, I mean, obviously, his role is to take wickets up front but if your skipper wants an over or two from you at the end, then he can do that.”

Hayden supported the Indian pacer and said.

The first T20I of the three-match series was played on Tuesday in Mohali, where Team India suffered a crushing loss to Australia. Team India was unable to hold on to a goal of 209 despite Hardik Pandya‘s impressive performance with the bat, who hammered 71* off 30 balls. Australia was victorious by four wickets thanks to the heroics of Cameron Green (61), who performed admirably, and Matthew Wade (45*). In their eight overs together, the fast bowling pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel allowed 101 runs to be scored.

Since he let up a total of 16 runs in the 19th over on Tuesday, Bhuvneshwar’s bowling in the last innings has been a source of concern for the past few games. However, Matthew Hayden, a former cricketer for Australia, backed Bhuvneshwar and referred to him as a “good finisher.”

“I disagree with that, I think he can and has been a very good finisher. I think that’s his role, I mean, obviously, his role is to take wickets up front but if your skipper wants an over or two from you at the end, then he can do that,”

Hayden told Star Sports.

In the recent few games, Bhuvneshwar has shown to be quite expensive in the final overs. The pacer lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Asia Cup, allowing 19 and 14 runs in the 19th over, respectively.

With regard to the game, it was Hardik’s second T20I fifty, and the innings was extremely important because India scored 208/6. The groundwork for India had been set earlier by KL Rahul 55 off 35 balls and Suryakumar Yadav 46 off 25 balls.

Australia managed to reach the target with four deliveries remaining, but it was not enough.

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The opponents took a 1-0 series lead because to Matthew Wade’s unbeaten 45 off 21 at No. 7 and Cameron Green’s 61 off 30 at the top of the order which was strong. Axar Patel excelled with the bat, taking three wickets for just 17 runs off of his four overs, but the Australian hitters completely destroyed the rest of the Indian bowlers.

Australian batting legend Matthew Hayden has been rehired by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to serve as the team’s coach for the ICC World T20 Cup in Australia. Hayden voiced his belief that the Pakistani squad, which boasts a talented group of athletes, will dominate the mega-event when it takes place the following month. Hayden participated in the World T20 Cup in the UAE last year for a brief period of time, seeing Pakistan’s semifinal loss to Australia.

Hayden will join the team in Brisbane on October 15 as the team will arrive after a T20I series involving Bangladesh and New Zealand. Pakistan will play their tournament opener against India on October 23 in Melbourne. Hayden shared his excitement to join the team as a mentor for the showpiece event.

For the last World Cup, the PCB also employed Vernon Philander of South Africa as a bowling consultant.

The PCB stated that Hayden’s association with the national men’s team will continue after he helped lead them to the last World Cup semifinals.

“I welcome Matthew Hayden back in Pakistan colours. He is a proven performer with his credentials acknowledged and recognised world-over. He brings with him wealth of knowledge about Australia conditions and I am confident his involvement will significantly benefit our extremely talented cricketers for the World Cup and future tours Down Under.”

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said

The PCB has also found sponsors to take care of the fees for Hayden.

“I am extremely excited to be reuniting with the Pakistan team and can’t wait to join the culture again and feel the spirit of One Nation One Passion,”

Hayden was quoted as saying in a PCB release.

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“I have seen how Pakistan has been performing in the ACC T20 Asia Cup and Sunday’s win over India was brilliant. I think this Pakistan side has got what it takes to excel in Australia and the conditions will really suit them, both from a batting and bowling perspective. This team has all of its bases covered and I am sure it will light up the World Cup as it did in the UAE last year,”

the burly Australian said