Ashwin broke his silence on not playing WC 2023 final, said - 'I was preparing 3 days in advance'

Most of the Indian fans and cricket experts expected experienced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to play in the World Cup 2023 final against Australia, but India Team Management and captain Rohit Sharma did not tamper with the winning combination and played with the same playing eleven. Who played the semi-final against New Zealand. When India lost the final, critics and trollers started saying that Team India should have played Ashwin on this pitch, but no one knew what was going on behind the scenes at that time, but now Ravichandran Ashwin himself has given his opinion on this question. The silence has been broken.

Ashwin has said that he understands the thinking behind captain Rohit Sharma not selecting him in the playing eleven for the 2023 World Cup final against Australia. Ashwin also admitted that if he had been in Rohit's place, he would have thought 100 times before changing the winning combination. The 37-year-old spinner played India's first match in the World Cup against Australia in Chennai but it proved to be his only match in the World Cup 2023.

Speaking to former India batsman S Badrinath on his YouTube channel, Ashwin supported Rohit's decision and said, "As far as I am concerned, I am playing the final, team combination and all that is another thing. First of all , It's about empathy, I keep stressing on it a lot. It's about standing in someone else's shoes and seeing things from his perspective. If I were in Rohit's place, it would be about changing the playing combination. I would have thought 100 times. It was going very well for the team. Why would I rest one fast bowler and play three spinners? To be honest, I was able to understand what was going on in Rohit Sharma's mind at that time. Had been."

Speaking further, Ashwin said, “Playing the final is a big opportunity. I was preparing for this for 3 days. I was not replying to many people. I only read the ticker of WhatsApp messages and kept my phone away. I was preparing myself well for the opportunity. Plus, I was ready to cheer for the team and run with Electra if I didn't get the chance. I was mentally prepared for it as well."