Virat Kohli wanted Chahal over Ashwin in the Champions Trophy squad

India and South Africa battle each other out at the Oval in the biggest match of the Champions Trophy so far. Kohli and De Villers will lead their sides as they try and make it into the semi finals. After Australia exited the tournament last night, one of either the defending champions or the number one ranked side will take an early flight home. After we learnt that India brought Ashwin into the side for this big match, we understand that Virat Kohli wanted Chahal over Ashwin in the Champions Trophy squad in the first place.

There was much speculation regarding India’s team combination ahead of this game. There was talk of dropping either Pandya or Kedar to bring in Ashwin, but India finally decided to drop Umesh.

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But according to reports, Kohli did not want to take Ashwin to England in the first place. Kohli is huge fan of Yuzvendra Chahal and wanted him to provide variation. Shahbaaz Nadeem was also considered, but the presence of Jadeja laid waste to those plans.

Kohli was also asked why Umesh had been dropped for this crucial match. Former players such as Ravi Shastri and VVS Laxman did not understand the decision, as they felt that India were weakening their bowling attack.

But Kohli said that Shami lacked match practice, which was the main reason he was not preferred. This is unusual as Shami looked in top conditions in the warm up matches.

Let’s see if the gamble pays off for Kohli and his team.