Indian World Cup winner Piyush Chawla believes that Indian selectors and the team management have made the right choice to pick Ravichandran Ashwin as a replacement for injured Axar Patel and believes that Ashwin is a like-to-like replacement for the left-handed all-rounder at No.8 spot for India.

The Indian cricket team made a late change to their squad for the 2023 World Cup. They brought back experienced off-spinner R Ashwin to replace the injured Axar Patel in the 15-man squad, who impressed in the Australia ODI series. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder joined the team in Guwahati in preparation for their first warm-up match against defending champions England.

Speaking to Espncricinfo, Piyush Chawla expressed his belief that the Indian team’s decision to include Ravichandran Ashwin in the World Cup squad was a wise one, considering his past performance for the team. He praised the veteran cricketer as a shrewd player, who is always thinking about the game and is capable of having a good tournament for the team in the upcoming event.

“We all knew that once Axar Patel got injured and was not fit enough for the World Cup, Ravi Ashwin was the straight choice because of his experience and the way he has bowled in the past. It is no surprise. It is a like-to-like replacement as he can bat, and is a very decent batter,” Piyush Chawla said.

“Ashwin is a street-smart cricketer. He is a very great player. No matter if he is bowling in white-ball or red-ball cricket, he is always thinking about the game. He is always connected to the game. So although he has not played a lot of cricket in ODIs over the last two years, he is a really good bowler and will do good for the team,” Piyush Chawla added.

The legendary spinner was overlooked from India’s ODI squad after the completion of the 2017 Champions Trophy and played only two ODIs since 2018 before being asked to return for the current series against Australia but impressed everyone with his skillset in the middle overs and could be crucial for the Men in Blue in spin-friendly conditions.

Ravichandran Ashwin Is Walking Into The Playing Eleven Straight Away Against Australia – Piyush Chawla

Piyush Chawla feels that Ravichandran Ashwin will straight away walk into the playing 11 against Australia on his home soil and asserted that playing cricket in Chennai over the years would help him to come good against the Pat Cummins-led side in India’s World Cup campaign opener.

“Nobody thought Ashwin would play. But he is walking into the playing eleven straight away against Australia at Chennai which favours spin. He knows how Chennai’s conditions are and has played enough cricket there to exploit these conditions,” Piyush Chawla further added.

Ashwin is one of India’s most experienced and skilful spin-bowling all-rounders in the country. Although he has not played any ODI match for a long time before the Australia series, he has a total of 155 wickets in 115 ODIs and his experience can come in handy for the team in the mega event.