I believe Dhoni and the selectors erred when they chose to omit Ashwin at Trent Bridge. He should be picked for Lords.
One area that India was supposed to have an advantage over the hosts is in spin bowling. Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar overshadowed India's spinners when England last visited India in 2012-13. India's 1-2 loss bears witness to that. With the retirement of Swann retirement and Panesar out of reckoning, and the fact that adequate replacements have not yet been identified, India were supposed to hold the edge as far as slow bowling was concerned. The decision to exclude Ashwin has gone some way towards neutralizing that advantage.
The Trent Bridge pitch, said Sky commentator and former English cricket great, Sir Ian Botham, would not have been out of place in Chennai, and throughout the five days of the Test there was precious little pace or bounce on offer from the very benign surface. One could not be certain exactly how the pitch would have played beforehand, but according to reports it did have a rather dry look to it, and that would have provided some clue.
India Erred In Not Picking Ashwin At Trent Bridge
One area that India was supposed to have an advantage over the hosts is in spin bowling. Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar overshadowed India's spinners when England last visited India in 2012-13. India's 1-2 loss bears witness to that. With the retirement of Swann retirement and Panesar out of reckoning, and the fact that adequate replacements have not yet been identified, India were supposed to hold the edge as far as slow bowling was concerned. The decision to exclude Ashwin has gone some way towards neutralizing that advantage.
The Trent Bridge pitch, said Sky commentator and former English cricket great, Sir Ian Botham, would not have been out of place in Chennai, and throughout the five days of the Test there was precious little pace or bounce on offer from the very benign surface. One could not be certain exactly how the pitch would have played beforehand, but according to reports it did have a rather dry look to it, and that would have provided some clue.
India Erred In Not Picking Ashwin At Trent Bridge
