The Indian head coach Rahul Dravid is of the view that Ravichandran Ashwin‘s inclusion in India’s playing XI for the Edgbaston test match couldn’t have been justified because the pitch didn’t break to an extent where the spinners were getting a lot of turn.
Ashwin’s inclusion or exclusion from India’s playing XI remained a matter of much debate right through the England test series and although the series was completed under two different managements, none of the two managements gave Ashwin an opportunity to feature in the playing XI.
Rahul Dravid, while addressing the press conference yesterday, said when they had a look at the pitch a day ahead of the 5th test match, there was a bit of green tinge and the grass tinge was almost on the whole surface. They thought it would help the fast bowlers initially and so it did, but then it didn’t break enough for the spinners to come into play on the last two days of the game.
Weather might be the reason why the pitch didn’t wear down enough: Rahul Dravid
Dravid thinks the weather might have had a role to play in pitch not breaking enough because it wasn’t hot at any stage of the game and the sun didn’t really bake down on the surface for it to break. If it had broken and offered enough turn, then Ashwin’s exclusion could have been a matter of debate.
But, according to Dravid, when the wicket didn’t break and didn’t spin, there is no point talking about the second spinner in the hindsight.
Rahul Dravid, however, admitted that India could have shown better intensity with the ball in the 4th innings of the game and could have landed the ball in good areas more consistently than they did. The coach assured that it’s something he and his support staff will reflect on, but he stressed the point that a second spinner wouldn’t have made much of a difference in the game.
