India is currently playing the first Test of the away series against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Indian skipper Virat Kohli came out for the toss along with the opposition captain Joe Root earlier today. Unfortunately, Kohli lost the toss and received an invitation to bowl first.
Jasprit Bumrah has provided an excellent start to Team India, dismissing Rory Burns early. The Indian cricket team got the upper hand early, but when the playing XIs were out, quite a few fans were left confused.
The reason behind it was that the Indian cricket team left Ravichandran Ashwin out of the playing XI. Ashwin is one of the top all-rounders in the most extended format of the game right now. He was a part of the Indian playing XI that played against the New Zealand cricket team in the ICC World Test Championship Final.
Ravichandran Ashwin has played 79 Test matches in his career so far, scoring 2,685 runs and picking up 413 Test wickets. His best bowling figures are 7/59. Also, he has the experience of playing Test cricket in the English conditions. Hence, many fans have been wondering how he failed to earn a place in the Indian playing XI for the Nottingham Test.
Did England’s team combination prompt India to leave Ravichandran Ashwin out of the playing XI?
There could be three potential reasons behind the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI of the Indian cricket team. The first is that the English conditions assist the pacers, so it is better to have more pace-bowling options.
Next, India might have noted that England have six right-handed batsmen in their Top 7. Thus, having a left-arm spinner is more beneficial. Also, it seems India might not want to take risk of playing two spinners in England again after the ICC World Test Championship Final.
