Kumar Sangakkara feels Ashwin should play in place of Hardik Pandya or Kedar Jadhav

Team India started their 2017 Champions Trophy title defense in style, by beating arch-rivals Pakistan by a mammoth 124 runs in their opening game at the Edgbaston on June 4. India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was not in the playing XI, though. A confident India next locked horns with Sri Lanka but lost the game due to below-par bowling by the Indian bowlers. Again, Ravi Ashwin was left out of the game.

Perhaps, India missed a trick, by excluding Ashwin and playing Hardik Pandya or Kedar Jadhav. Their batting department has been brilliant, collectively putting up totals of 300 plus in both their games. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan complement each other perfectly at the top. But something is missing, maybe Ravi Ashwin? Kumar Sangakkara feels the same.

“India, on the other hand, will rue what they might consider a missed opportunity. They batted beautifully with Shikhar Dhawan excelling once again. He forms a brilliant opening partnership with Rohit Sharma that is giving India great starts and a lot of confidence.”

“For their next match, India might be looking to change their line-up and may bring in Ravichandran Ashwin, leaving out Hardik Pandya, or possibly Kedar Jadhav. But, whatever they decide to do, they need to do it decisively, because for them the South Africans now await in another effective quarter-final,” Sanga wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

Ashwin has been out of action for long 

India take on South Africa tomorrow in what is a virtual quarter-final. Another missed opportunity, another error in team selection and India may lose out their last hope of a Champions Trophy berth. Ashwin has had a brilliant run with the Indian team all through the home season from November 2016 to March 2017 and after having missed the IPL due to a sports hernia, he should be raring to go in the crucial match against South Africa.