Ravichandran Ashwin (AP Photo)
The selectors picked Ravichandran Ashwin as Axar Patel’s replacement as the veteran spinner made a last-minute entry into the squad
The All India Selection Committee has announced the final squad for the ODI World Cup 2023 with one change from the preliminary squad. Axar Patel has missed out in the final 15 after sustaining a quadriceps injury during the Asia Cup Super 4 match against Bangladesh. The selectors picked Ravichandran Ashwin as Axar’s replacement as the veteran spinner made a last-minute entry into the squad despite not being part of the ODI set-up for about 20 months.
Ashwin made a return to India’s ODI team with the recently concluded ODI series against Australia after a span of about 20 months. The ace spinner claimed one wicket in the first ODI but showcased his class in the Indore clash where he scalped three and turned the rain-affected match in India’s favour.
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Axar got injured probably at the worst time as it would have been his first ODI World Cup while Ashwin now becomes the second player from the 2011 ODI World Cup winning side to be part of this year’s event alongside Virat Kohli. Ashwin was also part of the 2015 World Cup squad. In the tournament Down Under, he scalped 13 wickets in eight matches in India’s run into the semi-final.
Ashwin has claimed 155 wickets in 115 ODIs and scored 707 runs including a half-century.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer retained his place after a sensational century in the second ODI against Australia. The stylish batter also looked good in the third ODI where he scored 48.
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India will begin their World Cup campaign against Australia on October 08 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The 1983 and 2011 World Cup Champions will then take on Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on October 11 and then face Pakistan on October 14 at the world’s biggest cricket stadium – Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
India will play their next five matches against Bangladesh, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and South Africa respectively before playing their final league-stage match against the Netherlands on November 12, 2023.
India Squad For World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin , Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
