World Cup 2023: Jonathan Trott reveals why Afghanistan held back Rashid Khan against India

Afghanistan's decision to hold back star spinner Rashid Khan raised eyebrows as India cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket victory in a World Cup 2023 match in Delhi. India openers, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, laid the foundation for their success.

The duo added 94 runs in the first 10 overs while chasing a target of 273 on Wednesday, October 11. Rohit went on to produce a stellar performance, scoring 131 runs off 84 balls, while Kishan added 47 to the total.

3 things you need to know 

• Rashid Khan was not introduced in IND vs AFG match until 16th over 
• The leg-spinner broke India's opening 156-run partnership 
• Rashid picked up the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan

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Curiously, Afghanistan captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, chose to delay the introduction of Rashid Khan, one of the world's premier white-ball spinners, until the 16th over. By that time, India had already reached 125 for no loss, and the required run-rate had decreased significantly to a comfortable 4.11.

Rashid did eventually break the partnership by dismissing Kishan in his second over and later claimed Rohit's wicket in the 26th over. However, by then, India had amassed 205 runs on the board, leaving Rashid with limited impact, as he finished with figures of 2-57.

Afghanistan coach, Jonathan Trott, defended the decision, stating that he had always aimed to get Rashid Khan into the game as soon as possible. In the post-match press conference, Trott explained: "The captain obviously had a feel or a gut feel that he wanted to go with, and that’s the case. I think that’s a captain’s [Shahidi’s] prerogative.

"And I think there is a case maybe when the ball gets a little bit older for Rash to bowl with it, and it gets a little bit more turn, it doesn’t skid on as much. So, there’s six of one half a dozen of the other. But certainly, you want a guy like Rash in the attack as soon as possible, so, it’s always something we’ll look at."