Former India batsman, Sanjay Manjrekar has warned Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin that he might not play in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 clash against Afghanistan. Manjrekar believes Shardul Thakur or Mohammed Shami could come in for Ashwin if the pitch for the Afghanistan clash is flat in nature.

India will take on Afghanistan in their second Cricket World Cup 2023 clash at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday (October 11). The pitch last hosted South Africa and Sri Lanka’s high-scoring thriller on October 7. The Africans put up a total of 428/5 in that game, which the Lankans failed to chase down, getting all out at 326 in 44.5 overs.

Manjrekar Sends Ashwin Warning Ahead Of India Afghanistan Clash

Speaking on Star Sports, Manjrekar said that he did see India opting for Ashwin if the Delhi pitch remained just as flat. He further claimed that India needed to bring in a third pacer to take some pressure off Hardik Pandya.

The ex-Indian batter said (via Sportskeeda):

“My view is that unless there is a compelling reason, I don’t like Hardik Pandya as your third seamer. I think he also feels the pressure if he is the third seamer.

“What is likely to happen is that if the pitch is similar to the one that we had in that South Africa-Sri Lanka game, which was a belter, there was nothing there for the spinners, I don’t see Ashwin playing on that surface.”

He then backed either Thakur or Shami to replace Ashwin in the playing XI. Manjrekar added:

“India will add more batting depth unless they feel that they will get in pace quality against Afghanistan on this flat pitch. But they have shown their cards very early coming into the World Cup.

“They are not very keen to go one batter short. Shardul Thakur or Mohammed Shami is the change that I see if that’s the exact same surface that we get in Delhi.”

Ashwin Had A Decent Outing Against Australia

India picked up a massive victory over three-time Cricket World Cup winners Australia in their tournament opener on Sunday (October 8), chasing down a total of 200 with 8.4 overs left to play and six wickets in hand. KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah were the stars of the World Cup blockbuster.

Ashwin did not turn heads with his performance against Australia, but his numbers were more than respectable. Bowling 10 overs, he just conceded 34 runs and picked up the wicket of Cameron Green. His economy of 3.40 was the second-best in the innings.