IND vs AFG: Sunil Gavaskar furious after Rohit Sharma & Co. leave out Ravi Ashwin

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar unhappy with team management's decision to drop Ravi Ashwin.

Team India have made a big change in their playing XI for Afghanistan game in Delhi. Indian team management dropped off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI and Shardul Thakur was included as Ashwin’s replacement. Indian captain Rohit Sharma said the decision was purely based on conditions. Ravi Ashwin played India’s opening game against Australia at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai and picked up a wicket.

The decision didn’t go down well with former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who lashed out at Indian captain and team management for dropping Ashwin and replacing him with Shardul Thakur. A lot of fans are also surprised by this decision, as Delhi wicket also assists the spinners, and as India will be bowling first, the dew factor is also out of the equation for them. Delhi will see moderate dew later in the evening as the winter is approaching.

Sunil Gavaskar slams Indian management

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar asked the team management, “I don’t know what he’s (Ashwin) done wrong, but there you are. It is a difficult call. As a group, you look to try and give as many players an outing as possible. I would have thought that what Shami did against Afghanistan in 2019 turning the match in India’s way he would get a go.” The legendary opening batter also suggested that including Shami would have been a psychological play against Afghanistan.

Sunil Gavaskar added, “It is just a psychological thing, here’s a man who took a hat-trick. I know there will be a few changes in Afghanistan XI from 2019, but well, it’s a call that has been made. Ashwin is used to being left out of the team, and it is only going to make him more determined.” Ashwin was included in the World Cup squad as Axar Patel’s replacement. Ashwin was not part of India's limited-overs setup for 18 months and then suddenly got a call for the World Cup.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bat first against India at Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in Delhi. Hashmatullah said that Afghanistan have a decent bowling attack, and they will be looking to put in a good total against Indian attack. Coming in to this game, Afghanistan suffered a 6-wicket defeat against Bangladesh at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.