'Bhai chod do bass ho gaya' - Fans react as Sunil Gavaskar says Ravichandran Ashwin has been treated poorly after India's WTC 2023 final loss

The Indian team faced a massive 209-run loss against Australia in the World Test Championship 2023 Final. While chasing a mammoth target of 444 runs in the final innings, the Indian batters showed no intent and were rattled up in the first session on Day 5.

One of the biggest talking points of the match was the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI. While many experts believed that it was the right call, given the grass-covered pitch, Sunil Gavaskar feels otherwise. Gavaskar criticised not just the current management, but also the previous one led by Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri, for the treatment of Ashwin.

If Ashwin had been in the team, who knows what could have happened: Sunil Gavaskar

“India dropped Ravichandran Ashwin, the No. 1 ranked bowler in the game, according to the ICC rankings. The Australians had five left-handers in the team and while one leftie – Travis Head – scored a quickfire century in the first innings, another southpaw Alex Carey got a 48 in the first innings and an unbeaten 66 in the second. During that second innings effort, he also put on 93 runs with another left-hander Mitchell Starc at a time when India were looking to dismiss Australia cheaply in the second innings,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

“If Ashwin had been in the team, who knows what could have happened. With the bat too, he could have contributed. No other top-class Indian cricketer in the modern era has been treated as bafflingly as Ashwin has been. Tell me if there was a No. 1 ICC-ranked batter in the team, would he have been left out of the playing XI just because in earlier times he had not got runs on a grassy pitch or if he had not scored runs on a dry spin-friendly pitch? Definitely not.”

Ashwin has been dropped from a Test in England for the sixth time. Previously, the off-spinner did not appear in a single match during India's five-match Test tour of England in 2021. Ashwin has a respectable record of 18 wickets in seven matches in the country.

Here is how fans reacted

Bhyii ab kya hi kr loge aage ka soch lo bs kardo jabse test test laga rakha h ho gaya jo hona tha bcci ko bolo yeh sab politics band krde aur chup chap team ko apne hisaab se khelne de

— yashika sharma (@yashikasharma5a) June 13, 2023

Bhai chod dho bass ho gaya ab tak ye sab sunke

— Sid tweets (@Mee_siddhuuu) June 13, 2023

The game is over. Learn from it and focus on the next game.

— 𝘼𝙠𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝 (@AkhileshTekade) June 13, 2023

Atleast he is in the squad. Think about Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.

— Vaibhav Mallawat (@MallawatVaibhav) June 13, 2023

REASON: DEBUT UNDER GOAT MSD! 🔥

— AARAV (@leftisrightnow_) June 13, 2023

Very very true... Why Pujara still in playing 11 ??? On what grounds is he still getting chances ? Don't say, he's capable of make a comeback, there is a limit and he's crossed that limit long time ago

— Bhanu Viswa (@Bhanu_Viswa) June 13, 2023

Lemme say this Again.. Bowlers are not the same as batsmen... Bowlers are selected based on the pitch... India have spin All Rounder.. Making it difficult to have 2 spinners when conditions are favoring fast bowlers

— Matlhodi Chokoe (@xcvtor_14) June 13, 2023

ye sab abhi tak kaha baate kar rahe hai?

— Tweeting Quarantino (@rohitadhikari92) June 13, 2023

Sunil Gavaskar thinks Ravi Ashwin is being treated unfairly. He says it's like leaving out the best player just because they didn't do well on a grassy pitch. That's cricket for you!

— LiuLiu Explains EveryThing (@ExplainLiuLiu) June 13, 2023

I think we lost the WTC Final because of the Australia's first innings score where our bowlers couldn't take the early wickets. Ashwin would have been of some help here

— Cricket Enthusiast (@tarunreddyoo7) June 13, 2023