Ravichandran Ashwin replaced Ravi Bishnoi in India’s playing 11 for the Asia Cup Super 4 game against Sri Lanka. The two sides lock horns at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday. 

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl. 

India need to win the Super 4 game on Tuesday to keep their Asia Cup 2022 campaign alive. They come off a loss against Pakistan, where Bishnoi was the best bowler with figures of 1/26. However, with a few left-handers in the Lankan line-up, Ashwin was a better choice. 

Also read: Asia Cup 2022: Why Ashwin replaced Bishnoi in India’s 11 vs Sri Lanka

“With the dew, we need to learn the lines, the lengths and the boundaries well. The grass is lesser tonight. It looks drier, and we have one change on the basis of the Sri Lankan team: Ashwin comes in for Bishnoi,” skipper Rohit Sharma said at the toss. 

Ravi Ashwin, who has played for the Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, has a much better batting record than Bishnoi. He has been successful against Sri Lanka in their previous meetings. 

Also read: Suresh Raina retires: His 5 best knocks in Indian colours

In seven T20Is against Sri Lanka, the 35-year-old has picked 13 wickets at an average of 8.61 and economy rate of 4.90. His best figures are 4/8. 

With the bat, Ashwin has scored 112 runs. 

Ahead of the game, Ashwin spoke about India’s loss vs Pakistan. 

 “Any India Pakistan game is a high pressure game, but for me, looking from the outside, must say Pakistan played superbly and were deserved winners. We also had a fantastic game and it’s up to us to learn from where we went wrong, take the learnings and move on,” he said. 

Also read: Thank you, Mr. IPL: Chennai Super King’s tribute to Suresh Raina

When asked what keeps him motivated, the off-spinner said, “Playing for India doesn’t need motivation. You need to wait for the opportunity. There’s no guarantee of a result but for me I look at being best prepared stay upbeat and when the opportunity comes, do the best to my ability. Not a lot of world teams get an opportunity to play a tournament like this before the T20 World Cup. Lot of good teams in this one from Asia and we are looking at this as preparation for the knockout games later on.”