After a dominating win over Australia, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team now faces Afghanistan in New Delhi on Wednesday. The first match was played on a Chennai track which invariable bounce and stroke-making looked difficult. However, the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi produced over 700 runs in the only match that it has hosted so far. South Africa scored 428/5 batting first. In reply, Sri Lanka managed 326 runs. Keeping that in mind, former India cricket team star Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Ravichandran Ashwin may not find a place in the XI.
“Unless there is a compelling reason, I don’t think Hardik Pandya should be your third seamer. If he’s the third seamer, I’m sure he feels the pressure. 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,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
“India will increase their batting depth unless they believe they can beat Afghanistan with excellent pace on this flat track. However, they have already played their hand very early in the World Cup. They are not really eager to lose one batter. If that is the exact same surface we receive in Delhi, the change I see is either Shardul Thakur or Mohammed Shami.”
Former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja, serving as the mentor for the Afghanistan team in the ICC Cricket World Cup, commented on the remarkable progress Afghanistan has made in a relatively brief span. He emphasized the need for the team to gain more experience in batting for extended periods, whether in Test matches or ODIs.
India will take on Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday.
Talking to ANI, Jadeja said that Afghanistan has made a quick progress in a short period of time and he feels blessed to work with such “special players”.
“My experience has been great. Though it has been barely 4-5 days since I joined, but it has been nice. These are some really special people. You can look at journey of other cricket teams and how much years they took to reach where they are today, but this team has made a lot of progress in a quick time. I feel blessed to have got this opportunity,” said Jadeja.
Jadeja pointed out that the Afghanistan team’s fearless approach to the game is what stands out the most about them.
“The first thing that strikes me is their approach towards the game. Their fearlessness stands out. Their spin bowling (consisting of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Mujeeb ur Rahman), the entire world knows how good it is. Even our two seamers (including Fazalhaq Farooqi) are impressive. They are all in demand worldwide in various leagues. The experience needed to bat longer, be it in Tests or 50-over format is still something that is needed to be worked on because they do not get a chance to do it so often,” said the former Indian player.
On the upcoming match between India and Afghanistan, he said that the match is going to he special.
“Every World Cup match is exciting but now that I am with Afghanistan, the match with India will be special. It is a feeling I have never experienced before. I cannot express it,” he said.
With ANI inputs
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