Ravichandran Ashwin replaces Axar Patel in India’s ODI World Cup squad

A remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Ravichandran Ashwin has seen the vastly experienced offspinner enter India’s 2023 ODI World Cup as a last-minute replacement for the injured Axar Patel. Ashwin, who went over 18 months between ODI appearances before making a surprise return for the recent series with Australia, has taken the 15^th spot in India’s World Cup squad.

It had been speculated that Ashwin could enter India’s World Cup plans after Axar injured himself during the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh earlier this month, specifically when Rohit Sharma revealed that he had been in touch with the veteran during that brief period.

As it panned out, Ashwin was the second offspinner named in India’s ODI squad for the Australia games, alongside Washington Sundar who had been rushed to Colombo for the Asia Cup final. Playing his first ODI since the tour of South Africa in January 2022, Ashwin took one wicket in the first match and then three in the second to end with four wickets at an average of 22 while conceding runs at just 5.17 per over. The 37-year-old has so far played 115 ODIs, but just four since he was dropped from the Indian team in 2017.

The need for an offspinner in India’s World Cup squad has been widely debated once the selectors named the initial 15-man pool for the tournament starting October 5. Given the number of left-handers in most opponent team’s squads, the presence of three left-arm spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar did seem a bit one-dimensional. Ashwin’s presence, at the unfortunate expense of Axar, rectifies that problem and gives India a very solid spinner who can succeed across the country.

In ODIS in India, Ashwin has 69 wickets at 30.36 apiece and an economy of 5.07 an over. And while he does not occupy top allrounder status in white-ball cricket as he does in Test cricket, where he has five hundreds, he is a handy option to have down the order. How many matches Ashwin plays during the World Cup is a matter of conjecture, given that Kuldeep on form and status remains India’s No 1 ODI spinner. Plus, it must be asked, will India team up Ashwin and Jadeja in the same team, given that in 2017 after the Champions Trophy the selectors and management decided that this pair was not tenable in ODIs anymore?

One must spare a thought for Axar. Over the past two years, in the ODI format, he has taken 14 wickets from 16 matches at an average of 35.21 and at an economy of 4.90 while scoring 300 runs at 30 and a strike-rate of 106. An untimely injury less than two weeks ago has dashed his World Cup hopes and opened a surprise spot for Ashwin, who joins Virat Kohli as the only remaining member of India’s 2011 World Cup winning squad.

Beyond Ashwin’s addition, there are no changes to India’s initial World Cup squad. KL Rahul remains the preferred wicketkeeper, and Shreyas Iyer’s recent two innings against Australia have underscored why the team will bat him at No 4 all through the World Cup, fitness permitting. Suryakumar Yadav’s half-centuries in the first two ODIs has reinforced his status as a potential wildcard entry in the middle order, but looking at India’s settled top six it seems unlikely that SKY will get more than a couple chances during the World Cup.

India open their tournament on October 5 in Chennai, versus Australia.

India’s World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Hardik Pandya (v/c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav