Warne unhappy with New Zealand for playing WTC Final without a spinner

The inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) Final began on the second day at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Ahead of the game, India announced their playing XI going in with three pacers and two spinners in Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. On the contrary, New Zealand decided to play four front-line pacers and went with the option of seam bowling all-rounder in Colin de Grandhomme.

They benched the left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel who did extremely well in the second Test against England at Edgbaston. It was more to do with the overcast conditions on offer than the ability of the player. However, former Australia cricketer Shane Warne is not at all happy with the Kiwis for their decision to not play even a single spinner in the final. His tweet came when India had played around 40 overs in their first innings and the footmarks were already visible on the pitch. Warne reckoned that if the conditions stay dry, the spinners will definitely come into play and with India having two of them, a score of around 275 to 300 runs will be huge.

Here’s his tweet:

Very disappointed in Nz not playing a spinner in the #ICCWorldTestChampionship as this wicket is going to spin big with huge foot marks developing already. Remember if it seems it will spin. India make anything more than 275/300 ! The match is over unless weather comes in !

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) June 19, 2021