Ravichandran Ashwin had almost resigned himself to watching the World Cup from the sidelines when the provisional squad was announced in early September. He even relaunched his talk show “Kutti Stories” on YouTube.
But by a quirk of fate, Ashwin was drafted into the 15-member squad on Thursday to usher in variety to the one-dimensional attack. The off-spinner replaces Axar Patel who, it was learnt, would need around two more weeks to recover from his left quadriceps strain.
The ICC confirmed Ashwin’s inclusion in the evening but by late afternoon it was obvious since he reached Guwahati with the rest of the players for the warm-up match against England on Saturday.
The Telegraph has maintained all along that Ashwin enjoyed a good chance of making the squad following his return to the fold in the ODI series against Australia.
Ravichandran Ashwin. File photo
Ashwin, 37, will be the second player from the triumphant 2011 squad to feature in this edition, besides Virat Kohli. He took 13 wickets in eight matches in the 2015 World Cup but wasn’t picked for the last edition in England.
Axar’s injury may have come at the wrong time but Ashwin was set to make the grade even if the left-arm spinner had regained fitness. Shardul Thakur could have had to make way in such a scenario.
In Mohali, Ashwin played an ODI after 18 months. But his incisive spell was enough to convince the team management of his utility. The Australians found him tough to negotiate and David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne were undone by different variations of Ashwin’s carrom ball in Indore.
The team management realised that playing two left-arm orthodox spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar would make the attack too predictable. Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist spin will be the other option for Rohit Sharma.
The Australian top-order made a mockery of India’s bowling in Rajkot on Wednesday. The circumstances could return to haunt them when a lefthander is there at the top.
It’s almost certain that Ashwin will play India’s opener against Australia in Chennai on October 8.
