Ashwin calls Australia ‘giants’ of modern day cricket after ‘unbelievable’ World Cup win

Calling it a “mighty, mighty heartbreak” to lose the ICC World Cup 2023 final to Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday night (November 19), Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin applauded their opponents with a huge statement.

At the Narendra Modi Stadium, in front of over 1 lakh spectators, India’s 10-match winning streak in the World Cup 2023 was halted by the Pat Cummins-led side.

After keeping India to a below-par 240 all out in 50 overs, Australia cruised to a six-wicket victory for their sixth ODI World Cup trophy. Travis Head was the batting hero with a magnificent 137.

Ashwin played only one match in the World Cup 2023 – the opening game against Australia in his home city Chennai.

A day after the World Cup final loss, Ashwin took to his X (Twitter) account to share his emotions and made special mentions of Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, who were the leading run scorer and wicket taker respectively in the tournament.

He also made a special mention of captain Rohit Sharma and opening fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

Ashwin heaped praise on Australia, calling them the “giants of modern day cricket”. He added that what they did in the final was “unbelievable”.

“Mighty mighty heartbreak last night. Everyone in the team had several days to remember during this campaign and special mentions to @imVkohli @MdShami11 @ImRo45 and @Jaspritbumrah93. However I can’t help but applaud the giants of modern day cricket “Australia”. What they did on the field yesterday was just unbelievable. Congrats on their 6th World Cup win,” he wrote.

Kohli and Ashwin had a chance to become the only Indian players to win two ODI World Cup titles. But it was not to be. They had been a part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

The 37-year-old Ashwin, who is not a regular in the Indian ODI and T20I squads, may have played in his last white-ball tournament for the national team.