Ravichandran Ashwin on WTC final: "I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there" 

Ravichandran Ashwin has said he "would have loved to play" in the World Test Championship (WTC) final because he played a role in India's two-year journey to the summit clash.

The off-spinner, however, was quick to accept that the team wanted to stick to the template that worked for them in the 2-2 drawn series against England in 2021.

Ashwin was India's highest-wicket taker in the WTC 2021-23 cycle. However, India went with a combination of four-seamers plus Ravindra Jadeja at the Oval and lost the Test by 209 runs.

Several pundits slammed Rohit Sharma and Co. for selecting Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur over Ashwin, as both of them struggled to pick up wickets.

"It’s a hard question to answer, right?" Ashwin told The Indian Express. "Because we are standing right after the WTC Final. I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there. Even in the last final I got four wickets and bowled really well."

"Ever since 2018-19, my bowling overseas has been fantastic and I have managed to win games for the team. I am looking at it as a captain or coach and I’m just talking in hindsight, in their defense. So the last time when we were in England, it was 2-2 with a drawn Test and they would have felt 4 pacers and 1 spinner is the combination in England. That is what they might have thought going into the final," he added.

Ashwin further stated that he doesn't see this as a "setback" but a "stumbling block" which he can still overcome.

"For me, it’s not a setback," Ashwin said. "It’s just a stumbling block, I’ll move on because I have gone through that. When somebody knocks you down for the first time, you have a knee-jerk reaction. I think you should be knocked down once in a while along your life so that you are used to it and will know how to bounce back. That’s what life is. Whether you are at your peak or not, it is still a set back. The fact that you need to learn how to deal with it is very important."

Ashwin also said teams play spinners by thinking about the fourth innings. He added that "it's a mindset thing" if teams believe they can score enough runs for spinners to come into play as the game progresses.

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"I realized one thing is that I need closure" - Ashwin on his post-WTC-final tweet

Ashwin was praised for his humility and earnestness when, soon after the final, he congratulated Australia and lauded his teammates and support staff via a tweet.

He said he did so because he wanted "closure" for himself and his family.

"The moment, the final finished I put out a tweet because I realised one thing is that I need closure," Ashwin said. "The moment I get the closure I can move on. There is no time to hang around. I have understood life a lot better now."

"The more I see it, the kind of trauma toll it takes on my family is incredible. My father has a heart problem and other issues. Every single game, every single day, something happens, he will call me. He is stressed. It’s very easy for me to go out and play because it is still in my control. For my father, it is not and he goes through double of what I do. So looking at this in hindsight, everybody on the outside is irrelevant," he added.

Ashwin is currently playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and recently made a dramatic comeback for his side, Dindigul Dragons.