Ravichandran Ashwin declines to play County Cricket to play Afghanistan Test

It is not every day that one gets to be a part of Test cricket history. And that is why Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin declined a County Cricket contract from Worcestershire to play against Afghanistan in the one-off Test match. For Afghanistan cricket, this will certainly be the marking of what will be their first ever Test match. The fact that they will be playing the top dogs in Test cricket at the moment is another achievement in itself.

At the moment, Ashwin is a part of the Kings XI Punjab setup where he serves as the captain. Having been named the captain for the first time in his IPL cricketing career, the 31-year old has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has ensured that he has done justice to the role bestowed upon him. The Kings have seemingly gotten some semblance of balance to their side in the grand scheme of things.

Previously, it had been decided that Ravichandran Ashwin, along with skipper Virat Kohli and a few others would travel to England to play county cricket for a few months. The idea was to get the top Indian players acclimatize to England conditions prior to the start of their arduous tour. However, unlike his compatriot Ashwin, Kohli has decided to ply his trade in the County Championships with Sussex as previously decided.

Ashwin keen to be a part of Test cricket history

When questioned with regards to his decision on skipping the county cricketing championships, Ashwin had reportedly stated that he would love to play Afghanistan and be a part of Test cricket history.

Moreover, with Kohli absent for the games against Afghanistan and Ireland, the BCCI has been rather swift with their changes, so to speak. Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side against Afghanistan in June while Rohit Sharma will lead India once more when India travels to Ireland.

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