Ravichandran Ashwin is anticipated to take Axar Patel’s place in the Indian team for the forthcoming ICC World Cup 2023 in India. 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.

After Axar Patel hurt his thigh while batting in the Super 4 match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2023, Ravichandran Ashwin was called back into the lineup as a backup option for the Australia series. The senior spinner has performed exceedingly well on the conditions that are conducive to batting.

According to the reports in TOI, Team India selectors and management may take the call of bringing Ravichandran Ashwin to the ODI World Cup, as Axar Patel’s quadriceps injury might take a longer time to recover than the expected time.

“Axar is suffering from a quadriceps injury, which takes a long time to heal. KL Rahul was suffering from a similar injury and took four months to recover. It makes sense to not rush him now for the World Cup, given the way Ashwin has bowled in this series,” it stated.

Ravichandran Ashwin took an impressive three wicket-haul in Indore, where Team India scored 399 runs in the match, and with Axar Patel being out of shape in the game, Ravichandran Ashwin appears certain to travel with India to the ODI World Cup.

You Can Take Away The Class And The Experience – Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Ravichandran Ashwin for bringing in the experience against Australia in the first two games of the three-match series and lauded the Tamil Nadu all-rounder for his different variations in bowling, which makes him quite effective in different conditions.

“He has got the class, he has got the experience of playing the sport and he has handled the pressure. It is just that he has not played ODIs in the last year or so. But you cannot take away the class and the experience. He has got a lot of variations up his sleeve,” Rohit Sharma said.

The Tamil Nadu veteran has impressed everyone on his return to the Indian team in the Australia ODI series. R Ashwin was selected for the India ODI team and he made the most of his opportunities producing some good performances for the team and would look to contribute to the team if provided a chance in the World Cup squad.