R Ashwin is not included in the playing XI for the first Test against England.
India's off-spinner R Ashwin couldn't make it to the playing XI for the first Test against England at Trent Bridge on Wednesday (August 4). India are playing the four pacers and only one spinner, Ravindra Jadeja.
Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer expressed his surprise over the omission of Ashwin from the opening Test. He posted a meme that featured the ex-England captain Nasser Hussain.
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Stunned by the call to not play Ashwin, Jaffer wrote, "No Ashwin?! #ENGvIND". Hussain reacted to the post and he couldn't stop laughing at the meme.
England won the toss in the first Test and they decided to bat first. Apart from Ashwin, Ishant Sharma was excluded from the side and India played Mohammed Siraj in place of him. India batsman KL Rahul and the bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur also made it to the side.
At the end of lunch on Day 1, England lost two wickets for 61 runs in 25 overs. The hosts lost Rory Burns and Zak Crawley in the first session. Skipper Joe Root (12) and opener Dominic Sibley (18) were batting before the break.
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
England: Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow, Daniel Lawrence, Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, James Anderson