"They just hate KKR players man"- Fans react as Team India drop Shardul Thakur for Super 4 tie vs Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2023

All-rounder Shardul Thakur was left out of India's playing XI for the Super Four clash against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Asia Cup 2023 at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

The Men in Blue are coming into the game high on confidence after a resounding 228-run victory against Pakistan last night. A win against Sri Lanka today will help them book a spot in the final of the continental tournament.

Due to the high stakes, the team management did not rest any frontline players for this contest even though they were playing two 50-over games in as many days.

Team India made only one change to their side, replacing Shardul Thakur with Axar Patel. It was a horses-for-courses move as the management felt that the playing conditions were suitable for spinners.

Fans expressed mixed reactions to the decision. Some felt that the team management took the right call and gave Axar some much-needed game time. On the other hand, a few were not pleased to see in-form Shardul Thakur out of the playing XI.

Here are some of the reactions on the matter:

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"The wicket looks a little different, it is dryer" - Rohit Sharma on picking Axar Patel over Shardul Thakur

Speaking after winning the toss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma revealed that the dry nature of the pitch influenced them to bring in spinner Axar Patel ahead of pacer Shardul Thakur.

Rohit also shed light on the workload of India as they are playing for the third consecutive day in the tournament.

"The challenge is there to play well on back-to-back days and I think we are up for it," Rohit said. "The players are well looked after and fresh, so we are good to go. The last game was good for us right from the word go."

"We batted decently on that surface, bowled exceptionally and fielding was outstanding! The wicket looks a little different, it is dryer and so, we've brought in Axar Patel for Shardul Thakur," he added.

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Playing XIs of India and Sri Lanka:

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.

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Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, and Matheesha Pathirana.