Ashwin was part of the playing XI in India's World Cup opener against Australia.
In their World Cup opener against Australia at Chepauk, India went with three premier spinners in R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
However, the team management decided to leave Ashwin out for the game against Afghanistan. Instead, the hosts opted for an extra seam bowling all-rounder in Shardul Thakur.
The decision to exclude Ashwin didn’t go down well with batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, who sympathized with the off-spinner before adding that pacer Mohammad Shami would have been a better choice than Shardul given that took a hat-trick against Afghanistan in the 2019 World Cup.
“I don't know what he's (Ashwin) done wrong, but there you are,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“It is a difficult call; as group you look to try and give as many players an outing. I would have thought, what Shami did against Afghanistan in 2019, turning the match in India's way, he would get a go. It is just a pyschological thing, here's a man who took a hat-trick… I know, there will be a few changes in the Afghanistan XI from 2019, but well. It's a call that has been made. Ashwin is used to be left out of team, it is only going to make him more determined,” he further added.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat first against India at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
Speaking at the toss, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said: “We were looking to bat second. We saw the amount of dew last evening. Don’t think the wicket will change much. Need to bowl well and need to come back and bat better.”
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi