Manjrekar is perplexed after hearing that Ashwin advised Rohit to keep himself out of the starting lineup for India’s match against Bangladesh

Following an outstanding start to their 2023 World Cup campaign at home, which includes an impressive victory over Pakistan in Ahmedabad, the Indian squad deservedly had the day off on Monday. Team India arrived in Pune on Sunday after their victory on Saturday at the Narendra Modi Stadium. After checking into their hotel, they left the following morning. Later on Tuesday, India hosted an optional practice session, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium was jam-packed.

The day before their fourth World Cup game, against Bangladesh, or match day minus two, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya were all present for the practice session.

Star Sports posted a film of India’s practice session during the Netherlands vs. South Africa game’s innings break, and a specific clip from Pune left former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar perplexed.

In the video, Rohit was seen bowling to Ravindra Jadeja, which at first elicited a favorable response from the former batter who thought the captain was attempting to offer some overs of off-spin in the game against Bangladesh while bringing up the issue of the primary batters’ lack of bowling options, which was in sharp contrast to the Indian teams of the past.

What a picture it is! He said that at the press conference, which he had already begun discussing at the beginning of the competition, but we aren’t because India is doing well, but it is always beneficial to have a batsman who can bowl. He moves beautifully. With Rohit Sharma’s skill, that is fantastic. And maybe India is seeking for more bowling assistance so that they can maintain their balance and have 3–4 overs of off-spin, particularly when playing countries like Bangladesh who have at least 4-5 left-handers in their top 7.

It seems that India will not play Ashwin.

After throwing a few pitches, he approached Ashwin, who was watching the action, and the two engaged in conversation. Manjrekar believed that the great spinner’s advice to his captain about his bowling was indirectly hurting Manjrekar’s chances of being selected for the starting XI.

“It seems like they are choosing not to start Ashwin, which is a critical decision since it would force them to remove one of their seam bowlers and they don’t like Hardik being the third bowler. And in a sense, Ashwin is keeping Ashwin out of the game by offering Rohit advice, he said.

Rohit last bowled in an ODI game in 2016, when he faced Australia in Perth. He rolled his arms for an over before being hammered for 11 runs. In 38 innings of ODI play, he has taken eight wickets overall in 98.5 overs.

Rohit, Shubman Gill, and Kohli took on the fast bowlers in their batting session on Tuesday before Rohit’s bowling session was cut short after being destroyed by Hardik Pandya. Hardik delivered a few powerful blows while Kohli lasted for the longest. Later, when the second group of hitters took over the batting practice, Ashwin bowled to Jadeja while Shreyas Iyer faced throwdown experts. Ishan Kishan, who participated in the first two matches between Afghanistan and Australia, was also seen batting as he faced Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav simultaneously.