Fans took to X to react to India’s playing XI without the likes of former spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin or all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian team are taking on Afghanistan in a one-off Test starting on Saturday, June 6 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. The Indian side has stepped in with their full-fledged Test team under the captaincy of Shubman Gill.

Not only this, but the side handed Test debut to Manav Suthar, an all-rounder from Rajasthan. Suthar has become the first specialist spinner to debut for India in Tests since 2021, Axar Patel. However, this is also the first time in 15 years that India have fielded a home Test XI without either former spinning wizard Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja. The previous such instance came against New Zealand in Nagpur in November 2010. Since then, either one of the two had featured in 69 of India’s home Test games.

With Suthar’s debut, India got their 319th Test player for India, and it comes at a crucial stage since the side is preparing their fourth spinner for the Sri Lanka tour. Suthar and Harsh Dubey are competing for the fourth spot with the rest three being taken by Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar.

Fans react to Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin’s absence from playing XI for the first time in 15 years

Needless to say, the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin left fans nostalgic, and they took to X to express the same. Here’s how they reacted-

India won the toss, and decided to opt for bat first. At the time of writing, they were batting at 96-1 in 25 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal walked back to the hut following a 24-run knock, while KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan were batting at 37 and 32, respectively.