Ravichandran Ashwin

Captain Rohit Sharma & Co will be high on morale, having just put behind a successful IPL season. Cheteshwar Pujara has already got into the long-form mode, scoring three centuries and a fifty for Sussex in the English County Championship

The Ultimate Test begins at The Oval as India takes on Australia in the World Test Championship final. Fans eagerly await the intense contests between Rohit Sharma and Mitchell Starc and Cheteshwar Pujara against Nathan Lyon. The clash between Kohli and spin remains a concern, while Ashwin poses a threat to left-handers. The stage is set for an exhilarating showdown.

Ashwin was fined for breaching Article 2.7 of the IPL's code of conduct during the match which the Royals won by three runs on Wednesday night.

India has been silently harnessing all-rounders to add to the batting depth. Axar stood out as a batter in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, besides the contributions from Ashwin and Jadeja.

The Indian team is blessed to have the spin twins. Add to it the third spinner, the dangerous Axar Patel, and you have a deadly combination. Who says three’s a crowd?

Axar (74 off 115) led the Indian fight-back, scoring a boundary-laden half century.

India’s big innings and 132-run win over Australia in the first Test catapulted the ’Men in Blue’ to the top spot, dislodging the Pat Cummins-led team. Already the top T20 side, India had reached the number one spot in ODIs last month after beating New Zealand 3-0.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who made a successful comeback after almost five months due to a knee injury, has moved up to the 16th position, courtesy his player-of-the-match winning effort in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series-opener.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (5/37) returned with a five wicket haul as India shot off Australia for 91 in 32.3 overs in their second innings just before tea.

Current all-format skipper Rohit Sharma is 35 and so is Umesh Yadav, the supremely fit paceman who made his international debut 12 and a half years back. Batting stalwarts Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are 34, as is crack all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

A video of India's R Ashwin is circulating on Twitter that shows the off-spinner in an awkward situation. So, what's the story?

Ashwin, who has multiple times ran batters out for backing up too far at the non-striker's end, also supported women's team player Deepti Sharma when she dismissed the last English batter during India's series in the UK.

A look at the team gives ample indication that the Gen Next is ready to take over after the T20 World Cup.

India vs Pakistan: R Ashwin gave fans an insight into that dramatic final over at the MCG on his YouTube channel.

Virat Kohli was the Player of the Match against Pakistan, but Ravichandran Ashwin showed his brilliant presence of mind at a very crucial time.

With Iyer and Rana ticking the scores along without taking much risks, KKR needed one big over to turn things around in their favour. That big over came in the 11th over sent down by Ravichandran Ashwin, who had before this match taken eight wickets for RR this season.

A number of Sri Lankan batters made starts but could not make it count, once again surrendering meekly to India, who have won 14 consecutive test series at home.

While Ashwin achieved the feat in his 85th match, Kapil Dev had managed it in 131 matches. He is now only behind legendary spinner Anil Kumble -- who has 619 Test wickets to his name.

You can like him or hate him, but you can't ignore him. Ashwin is known for finding himself in the middle of controversies.

Virat Kohli has made it clear in the past that his job as captain is to win matches, not popularity contests. While constructive criticism is okay, it is unfair to vilify him for speaking his mind.