Sachin Tendulkar questions Ravichandran Ashwin's exclusion from India's playing XI in WTC final

Questions over Ashwin's exclusion grew louder after India's devastating loss in the final.

Tendulkar tweeted, "Congratulations to Team Australia on winning the #WTCFinal. @stevesmith49 and @travishead34 set a solid foundation on Day one itself to tilt the game in their favour. India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn’t.

"There were some good moments for Team India, but I fail to understand the exclusion of @ashwinravi99 in the playing XI, who is currently the number one Test bowler in the world."

"Like I had mentioned before the match, skillful spinners don’t always rely on turning tracks, they use drift in the air and bounce off the surface to disguise their variations. Not to forget, Australia had 5 left-handers out of their top 8 batters," he added.

Dominating the entire Test match, Australia clinched a comprehensive 209-run victory over India.

After piling 469, thanks to hundreds by Travis Head and Steve Smith, in the first innings, Australia bowled India out for 296.

Chasing a target of 444, India crumbled down to score only 234 in the second innings, missing another chance to lift an ICC trophy.