ICC Champions Trophy 2017: R Ashwin understood the dynamics of the side that we picked in the last game, says Virat Kohli

What’s the story?

A day before India’s second match against Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohli faced the media and spoke about various issues. One of those was about leaving out off-spinner R Ashwin for the match against Pakistan and how he reacted when he got to know about his exclusion from the team.

Kohli praised Ashwin for understanding the dynamics of the team and revealed that the offie backed his decision.

“Everyone knows that Ashwin is a high-class bowler and he is very professional as well. Ashwin understood the dynamics of the side that we picked in the last game and he was absolutely fine with it. He told me I support you in whatever you do and that’s always been our equation.

“Yes, we have our own disagreements on the bowling front as he has his own plans in place, but in this case, when team selection come into play, he is very professional and understands what the team demands. One nice thing about him is that he always puts the team ahead of himself and he was the first guy who said that I don’t have any problems in the combination you go in with,” said Kohli in the pre-match press conference.

In case you didn’t know...

India defeated Pakistan by 124 runs via Duckworth Lewis Stern method in their first match of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma top-scored for India with a steady 91 and was supported well by Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh as all these batsmen registered fifties. With the ball, Umesh Yadav picked up three wickets while Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya ended with two wickets apiece. Yuvraj was declared as the player of the match for his match-turning innings.

Details

When Kohli announced the Indian XI before the game against Pakistan, the fans were in for a surprise as Ashwin was left out along with pacer Mohammad Shami. When asked about the bowling combination after the win, Kohli revealed that Ashwin was overlooked because the Pakistan batsmen are good players of spin and the fact that they had many right-handers in their XI made him go for Jadeja ahead of the Tamil Nadu offie. Also, Jadeja’s contribution in the field could have been a factor behind his inclusion ahead of Ashwin.

Extra cover: Virat Kohli reveals why Hardik Pandya was promoted ahead of MS Dhoni

Kohli also conceded that the bowling combination will be changed according to the opposition.

What’s next?

India play Sri Lanka in their second match of the tournament at The Oval on June 8.

Author’s Take

It is good on Ashwin’s part to act like a professional and put the team ahead of himself. Having said this, there are chances that the off-spinner could get a look in as Sri Lanka have a lot of left-handers in their line-up.

Extra cover: Ravichandran Ashwin opens up on differences between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli's captaincy