Talented leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was picked ahead of the senior spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the IND vs AFG 1st T20I. To note, Ravi Bishnoi is ranked second in the ICC T20I bowling rankings and played a crucial role in the India vs Australia T20I series conducted last year. On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav also has decent numbers in the 20-over format. However, the left-arm spinner was left out for the IND vs AFG 1st T20I.
Ravi Bishnoi has performed magnificently in the 20-over format whenever he has got the chance for the Men in Blue. He has had a hectic schedule playing the Ranji encounter against Tamil Nadu until January 8 in Ahmedabad. The leg-spinner then had an early morning flight from Mumbai on January 9 to join team India ahead of the IND vs AFG 1st T20I in Mohali.
“We are chasing. No particular reason. The pitch doesn’t change much. Yeah, want to chase. Yeah, look, I mean, it’s an important question. Leading into the World Cup, there is a lot to gain from this series. We haven’t had a lot of T20 cricket recently. Yeah, IPL is there, and it will start soon. But international cricket is different. I wasn’t in the team for the entire last year, but I’ve been talking to Rahul bhai (Rahul Dravid) about what we are doing and understand what we need to do as a group. Winning is the most important thing,” said Rohit Sharma at the toss.
“I will tell who are all missing out. Sanju Samson, Avesh Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hasn’t pulled up well. One more…. Yeahhh…. I did say to you (Murali Karthik) before the toss… Yeah, Kuldeep Yadav,” he added.