Immediately following India’s second straight defeat in the WTC final, Ashwin sent out an inflammatory tweet, which he later justified as an act of “closure.”
A fortnight has passed since Ravichandran Ashwin was heartbrokenly left out of the World Test Championship match against Australia at The Oval. Ashwin was withdrawn to make room for an additional seamer, despite being India’s top wicket-taker in the second WTC cycle and the No. 1 ranked ICC Test bowler. This decision was roundly criticised and ultimately proved to be a key factor in India’s 209-run loss. After India’s second straight defeat in the WTC final, Ashwin immediately sent out an inflammatory tweet, which he subsequently justified as an act of “closure.”
“I don’t feel sorry about my travels. Going back and saying, “Well, this didn’t happen for me or something happened for him,” is extremely simple for me. I have no mercy whatsoever for myself. I posted that tweet because I wanted to end the situation. I could no longer tolerate people showing sympathy for me; I detested it.
You don’t play and sometimes you are bigger than if you had played the game in this social media age, right? If he had played, people are saying, we would have won. I doubt that we would have triumphed if I had participated. I would have given it my all, and I really believe that I gave myself the best chance to be successful there. I also believe that I merited my stripes. All I can do is that. However, as soon as it was finished, I just wanted to move on and concentrate on the TNPL for Dindigul Dragons,” he said.