WTC Final 2023: World's No.1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin's pinnacle spot is under threat after he missed out on selection in India vs Australia WTC Final 2023. India and Australia are up against each other at the World Test Championship final at The Oval. Both the teams are looking for completing a cycle of all the ICC titles as only the Test championship mace is away from the trophy cabinet.
Meanwhile, India have fielded a four-one bowling option with Ravindra Jadeja being the only spin bowler for the Rohit Sharma-led side. They have opted to go with Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and Ravindra Jadeja as the five bowlers for the final. Notably, Ashwin is now under threat of losing his final spot to a couple of English and Aussie players. England's veteran James Anderson and Australian captain Pat Cummins are ranked second and third, respectively, and pose a threat to Ashwin.
ICC has released its weekly rankings and even though there is no change in the top five, Ashwin would be wary of losing his top spot. Ashwin has 869 rating points to his name, whereas Anderson is 19 behind with 850 to his name. He has lost rating points after missing out on England vs Ireland one-off Test. Cummins is not much behind and has 840 rating points.
Notably, India will not be playing any more Test matches after the WTC Final but Australia and England have a couple of the Ashes Tests set to be played in June. They will play three more Test matches next month whereas India will only play two Test matches in the month of July.
As per the latest ICC rankings, England's Stuart Broad has stormed back into the top 10 after scalping 6 wickets in the Ireland Test. He 744 ratings and has scaled two places to reach No.10. Ollie Robinson is the only other English fast bowler apart from these two to be in the top 10.
