India has officially selected a seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, to fill in for the injured spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel in the 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup, as announced by the ICC on Thursday.
Axar Patel is unavailable due to a quadriceps tear, and given his uncertain recovery timeline, the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, opted for the 37-year-old Ashwin. Ashwin showcased his capabilities by taking four wickets across two ODIs during the recent series against Australia.
ICC stated in a media release,
“Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India’s Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result,”
The release further stated,
“Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named his replacement, who was impressive on his return to ODI cricket in the recently concluded series against Australia where he picked up four wickets in two games,”
It became evident that Axar wouldn’t recuperate in time for the third ODI against Australia in Rajkot. Accompanying the Indian team to Guwahati, Ashwin is set to participate in the first warm-up match against England on Saturday, September 30.
India World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
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