Rahul Dravid explains why India preferred Shardul Thakur over R Ashwin in starting XI for 5th Test vs Eng

Despite being one of India's most impactful bowlers in the longest and oldest format, veteran Ravichandran Ashwin was not named in the Indian playing XI for the recently concluded 5th Test match against England. Did India miss the services of Ashwin in the rescheduled Test of the 2021 series at Edgbaston? During the post-match press conference on Tuesday, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid was asked to explain the exclusion of the veteran bowler and middle-order batter in the 5th Test.

India's second-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game, Ashwin failed to record a single appearance in the five-match Test series which ended in stalemate on Tuesday. In the rescheduled 5th Test match of the 2021 series, India opted to name Shardul Thakur at the expense of Ashwin in the playing XI. While defending Shardul's selection in the playing XI, head coach Dravid also admitted that it was not easy to leave Ashwin for the series decider.

"I think you can always look at the hindsight, look at the combinations of your team. I think Shardul has done a good job for us in these games, it is not easy to leave someone like Ash (Ravichandran Ashwin) out in a Test match, but having said that, when we had looked at the pitch on the first day, it had a pretty even covering of grass, we felt there was enough in the wicket for the fast-bowlers," Dravid said.

Dravid also opined that the ball didn't really spin at Edgbaston - the venue of the series decider between India and England. Dravid feels that the weather played a part in the first three days of the 5th Test match that ended in England's favour on Tuesday. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow's centuries helped England defeat India by 7 wickets in the final match of the 2021 Test series. The five-match series between India and England ended in a stalemate.

"Coming to the last day, the wicket has not really spun you know. Whether it was Jack Leach or Ravindra Jadeja who bowled in the Test match, if anything because maybe the weather played a part in the first three days, there weren't long phases of sun but the wicket did not break up as we might have expected it to. It did not spin as much as we expected, it is easy to look back at the fifth day and say it would have been nice to have another spinner, but it did not turn enough to justify that. I think we accept that they played really well, we could have just hit the areas better in the fourth innings," he added.