India’s huge loss at ICC World Test: Exclusion of Ashwin biggest self-inflicted wound

By Bharat Dogra
India’s huge loss in the ICC World Test Championship match has come as a big disappointment for cricket lovers—not just in India—who were expecting a keen contest. After this match the most honorable course of action for Rohit Sharma would be to resign as India’s Test captain.
No, it is not because India lost. Such things do happen in sports. Winning and losing is a part of sports and should be taken in that spirit.
No, this is also not because of the poor performance of Rohit Sharma himself, (coming on top of other recent poor scores). He has been a great batsman for India over the years. Such rough patches of performance can happen from time to time to any sportsperson, no matter how great.
The reason why he should resign is because of the self-inflicted loss he caused even before the important world championship match even started. This he achieved by dropping Ravichandran Ashwin from the Indian team. In ICC ranking Ashwin is ranked as the number one test bowler at world level and as the number two test all-rounder. How can anyone even think of dropping such a player, and that too from such a crucial match?
In fact if there are two players in the Indian team who select themselves on the basis of their performance and capabilities these are Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. In addition they bowl very well in partnership when a double spin attack is needed.
As soon as the decision not to include Ashwin in the chosen 11 for the match became known, comments of great disappointment were heard repeatedly. Such cricket greats as Sunil Gavaskar and Ricky Ponting trashed this decision immediately. As they pointed, out such a great performer and deeply committed player cannot be left out on the basis of pitch conditions alone. As it turned out, the Indian captain’s reading of the pitch conditions also turned to be rather poor.
As Ravichandran Ashwin is a very thinking cricketer, and as his selection in the final eleven was almost certain, he must have spent a lot of time thinking on his strategy, as any great spinner would. Very sad to know that Rohit had no room for this.
In fact the team selection could have been better in other ways too. We needed Ashwin and one more all-rounder too and a different wicketkeeper batsman. No attention was given to the many talented young cricketers who have been making their presence felt with great performances in domestic cricket.
However without doubt it was the exclusion of Ashwin which was the biggest self-inflicted wound on India’s chances in the match. This decision was highly unjust not just to Ashwin but also to cricket lovers who were deprived of the chance of watching the great spinner giving his best at the world championship match.
Ashwin has earlier suffered similar injustice when he was excluded from playing from four tests at a stretch during a recent tour of England. At that time former Engand captain Michael Vaughan had called this the the biggest non-selection of the series while Mark Waugh had wondered if the Indian think-tank has any clue.
With all the data analysis readily available, one wonders why Indian skippers have not been put it to proper use. Where is the problem? In fact any data analysis would reveal very clearly that Ashwin had a much higher justification for selection compared to Rohit Sharma himself in the much-awaited championship match.
In addition to his very impressive top rankings, Ashwin has been a very determined fighter in difficult conditions. His grit was well in evidence in India’s recent highly inspired tour of Australia when in poor health he put up a match-changing performance. He puts to good use his analytical abilities to make improvements where needed. He put in a lot of effort to improve his batting as well and the results have been evident as he has been making important contributions coming in at number 8, a strength for any team. In fact if any unbiased selection for captaincy of Indian team is made, Ravichandaran Ashwin would be one of the strong contenders.
Is arrogance a reason for such unjust, difficult-to-explain reasons? As arrogance increases, there is less transparency and reason. In such conditions team spirit suffers. The joy which cricket brings to so many people is eroded when there is a strong sense of injustice and bias in important decisions.
One hopes that there would be more reason and less arrogance in Indian cricket.
---
The writer is a senior journalist and author

Comments

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Search This Blog