The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team is set to face Afghanistan in New Delhi on Wednesday after a dominant win over Australia. The first match was played on a challenging Chennai pitch, but the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi has proved to be a batting paradise, with over 700 runs scored in the only match played there. Taking this into consideration, former India cricket team star Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Ravichandran Ashwin may not be included in the playing XI unless there is a compelling reason.
“If the pitch resembles the one from the South Africa-Sri Lanka game, which was a batting paradise with no support for spinners, it’s doubtful that Ashwin will be included in the playing XI on such a surface,” said Manjrekar on Star Sports. He further added that India may prioritize increasing their batting depth unless they believe they can beat Afghanistan with excellent pace on the flat track. In that case, either Shardul Thakur or Mohammed Shami could be possible changes to the team.
Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja, currently serving as the mentor for the Afghanistan team in the ICC Cricket World Cup, praised the remarkable progress Afghanistan has made in a short period. He emphasized the importance of the team gaining more experience in batting for extended periods in Test matches or ODIs.
India will play Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday. Jadeja expressed his excitement for the match, stating that every World Cup match is exciting, but the match against India holds a special significance for him since he is now associated with Afghanistan. He described the team’s fearlessness and their impressive spin bowling attack as their standout qualities.
“I feel blessed to have got this opportunity,” said Jadeja, referring to his mentoring role with Afghanistan.