Ashwin, Jadeja named in ICC Test Team of the Year

Ace Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been named in the ICC Men's Team of the Year led by Australia skipper Pat Cummins released on Tuesday.

Ashwin and Jadeja joined Usman Khawaja (Australia), Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Joe Root (England), Travis Head (Australia), Ravindra Jadeja (India), Alex Carey (wk) (Australia) in the Test Team of the Year.

Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker for India in the Border-Gavaskar series, finishing with 25 wickets in four matches. In the very first Test, Ashwin bagged a five-for in the second innings to go with handy contributions with the bat in each innings.

His all-round showing fetched him the Player of the Series. Despite the stellar showing, Ashwin did not find a place in India’s XI for the WTC23 Final against the same opponent but made a mark on his comeback into the Test team with 12 wickets (5/60 and 7/71) in the first game against West Indies followed by fifty and three wickets in the next game.

On the other hand, Jadeja kicked off 2023 in spectacular fashion, delivering a standout performance against Australia in Nagpur with a five-wicket haul and a half-century. He followed up with an even more impressive showing in the next game, securing a 10-wicket match haul, including a seven-for in the second innings, instrumental in India retaining the trophy.

Continuing his fine form, he claimed five more wickets in the series and carried the momentum into the World Test Championship Final against Australia, where he contributed with four wickets and a valuable 48 with the bat, despite India ultimately facing defeat.

Jadeja began the new iteration of the World Test Championship in the same vein, scalping seven wickets and scoring a fifty against West Indies in the two-match series away from home.