World Cup 2023, Ind vs Afg: Sunil Gavaskar surprised at omission of Mohammed Shami from playing XI

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed bemusement after India decided to go with Shardul Thakur instead of Mohammed Shami for the World Cup clash against Afghanistan in New Delhi on Wednesday (Oct 10).

Shami, who had been a regular feature in the Indian lineup ahead of the World Cup, missed the first game as the management went ahead with R Ashwin on the spinning track of Chennai. However, many believed that Shami was an automatic choice for the flat Delhi pitch.

"It's a difficult call, but I guess as a group, you're looking to try and give as many of your players a little bit of an outing. And I would have thought with what Mohammed Shami had done against them in 2019, getting a hat trick and turning the game in the way he would get a go, because it's just a psychological thing. It's psychological," said Gavaskar.

The cricketer-turned-commentator recalled Shami's hattrick against Afghanistan in the 2019 World Cup, which eventually turned the tide in India's favour.

"He is a man who's who's taken a hat-trick. Play him. I know there will be a few changes in the Afghanistan lineup from 2019, but anyway, it's a call that has been made. Ashwin is used to this, you know, to be left out of the team. It's only going to make it that much more determined," said Gavaskar.

"But again, what India needs to do is to make sure that like they did against Australia, you know, try and restrict Afghanistan to as little as possible."

Afghanistan won the toss against India and opted to bat first. The pitch, like the previous match between Sri Lanka and South Africa, looks flat - meaning another run-fest could be on the cards.

Playing XI:

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Lokesh Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

(With inputs from agencies)

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