📌 What If Series #4
What if Ravichandran Ashwin had played both the 2023 WTC Final and the 2023 ODI World Cup Final?
It's one of the biggest selection debates of recent years.
In the WTC Final, India went with an extra seamer and left out the then No.1 ranked Test bowler in the world. Against Australia, a team Ashwin had consistently troubled over the years, including during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he repeatedly outthought and outbowled some of their best batters.
In the ODI World Cup Final, India again preferred an extra seamer. Siraj wasn't able to make the impact India would've hoped for, and the bowling attack lacked variety once the ball got older.
What could Ashwin have offered?
• A better matchup against Travis Head, who has occasionally been vulnerable against quality off-spin
• More variety in the bowling attack
• Greater control in the middle overs
• An attacking wicket-taking option when partnerships were building
• Tactical flexibility with field placements and matchups
• His cricketing intelligence and ability to read batters better than almost anyone in the game
• Valuable lower-order runs in pressure situations
Would India definitely have won?
Nobody can say that.
But it's hard to argue that Ashwin wouldn't have made a difference.
The bigger question is this:
When one of the greatest match-winners in Indian cricket history is available, should conditions and opposition strengths matter more than team balance on paper?
We'll never know.
But "What if Ashwin had played?" will remain one of Indian cricket's biggest unanswered questions.
#WhatIf #Ashwin #TeamIndia #WTCFinal #CWC2023 @ashwinravi99 @prasannalara
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154
Jun 12
From heartbreak on November 19 to looking ahead to November 21—the countdown to redemption begins! 🏆👀
#CWC2023 #CWC2027 #CricketWorldCup #TeamIndia #CricketLovers
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Jun 10
cwc2023のシティ戦で唯一希望が見えたプレーをしていたのが中島だった。
31歳での契約満了は致し方無いが残念。
現代サッカーではなかなかいないファンタジスタ系で、いるとチームの流れを変えられる選手。
日本人ではいないが、中嶋に代わる選手を取ってきて欲しい。
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May 28
He already played for Orcas in the inaugural season …
Remember him coming straight after playing the Cwc2023 qualifiers …
Came to practice straight away get lagged … he’s one of the nicest guys out there ❤️
Remember him and Glenn Phillips(WSF) giving ✍️ for all young fans
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May 27
Why law of averages doesn't align with RCB to win IPL 2026🚨🥲
👉 The final peak fallacy
- RCB just played perfect game in Qualifier 1 to defeat GT. Now, to maintain that, it'd take a lot of effort considering they directly play on Sunday now.
👉The 250 Curse
-In IPL history, teams that touch absolute statistical ceiling in a playoffs game always have suffered a regression later.
👉The invincible effect.
-Last year PBKS looked invincible till the final, guess what happened. Same with India CWC2023💔
We are cooked RCB nation.
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1,767
May 26
Team Environment is not something you get,It is something that You create it.
#RohitSharma
#CWC2023
May 26
Hardik likes a good team environment which he got in GT and will get in CSK. No snakes😋😋
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May 25
Pat Cummins reveals the true value of virat kohli wicket in cwc2023.🤯
He knows what he can do, and the silence of 1lakh people make him realise what they have achieve.❤️🔥❤️🔥.
#ipl.#viratkohli.#patcummins.
May 25
🚨 PAT CUMMINS REVELED AFTER VIRAT KOHLI WICKET IN WC 2023 🚨
Pat Cummins Said 🗣️,
“When we were standing together after Kohli’s wicket fell, Steve Smith suddenly said, ‘Boys, just listen to the crowd for a second.’ Then we paused for a moment and felt it the whole stadium had gone silent like a library. There were 110,000 Indians there, yet there was complete silence all around. I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life, that I went to India and silenced a crowd of over one lakh people.”
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May 23
What is this
Shreyas Iyer had a beautiful girlfriend during CWC2023 days.
May 23
So shrey Iyer is dating sports journalist Jannat Khan ☕👀
>See jnnat's shirt in the first photo, it's Shreyas Iyers shirt (see 2nd photo)
>Notice "SI" (Shreyas lyer) pendant which she is wearing, though she keeps deliberately hiding in her posts.
>She recently changed the caption of her 2022 caption adding "2026: he did"
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715
May 22
U bullshit where is ur performance in main final of CWC2023 u just choked and ur also main reason for loss of CWC23, again choked in Qualifier 1 and Final in 2023 and in FINAL 2021 first try to perform to the nation team
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Kusal Mendis in my book is a player who should be provided absolute freedom to unleash himself in the middle, especially in ODI/T20. Not one to be burdened with leadership. If the stop gap stint at the CWC2023 was anything to go by that's what it screamed. Wish i'm wrong!!
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May 6
CWC2023🇸🇦からの三年間くらい現地参戦皆勤できてて、ありがたいことにその間体調不良無し。何か因果関係があるのか。
スタジアムやその道中で友人らとお喋りできるのが精神的に良いのかも知れない。
あと週末参戦時に日光を浴びるのも。
30代のこれからも健康維持の為に続けていきたい。
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Apr 30
CWC2023で勝った
メキシコのクラブレオンのスカッドは
浦和レッズより少し上だったように記憶している。
だからあの1勝は当然ではない。
難しい場所(日本とは違う異常な気候)で難しい相手に勝った。
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Apr 27
Every opening partnership except for PBKS, only 1 fires & the other has a bad day. With PBKS they both fire together & at insane strike rate & consistency.
It makes lower order of PBKS vulnerable too. Hope it doesn’t turnout like it did for India in CWC2023.
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What? Buttler is the only reason why England's cricket image was tarnished and ppl globally started mocking our form in white ball!! he should have been sacked just after that mind boggling CWC2023 campaign.
Also- not adding here his wicket throwing abilities in this t20wc 2026.
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Apr 23
That innings which made Australia comeback in the CWC2023 and later winning it 🙏🏻.
Apr 22
Still a mystery how Glenn Maxwell pulled off this chase. 😲 x.com/Kohlistic18/status/204…
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Apr 12
If bowlers fail why are u blaming captain!!. If u want i can also blame Rohit Sharma for losing cwc2023 finals
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🚨 Show this match to someone who’s not a cricket fan
By the end of this match, if they didn’t start liking cricket
I will stop watching cricket forever.. 😵💫
#GlennMaxwell #CWC2023 #IPL2026
#PeakMaleContent #CricketFans
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