When the Indian squad for the 3-match ODI series against Australia was announced, several eyebrows were raised when Ravichandran Ashwin’s name was there. Ashwin was included in the Indian ODI squad after Axar Patel was ruled out because of an injury.
The Indian team management decided to leave no stone unturned during India’s World Cup preparations. For all you know, the 37-year-old cricketer’s experience could come in handy during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, which will be taking place in the spin-friendly tracks of India.
Ravichandran Ashwin is widely considered as one of the best off-spinners ever produced by India. Along side Harbhajan Singh, Ashwin finds his name in the record books of India. And he has been time and again, winning Test matches for India.
With 879 points under his belt, Ravichandran Ashwin is the number 1 Test bowler. He has the ability to bamboozle the opposition batters with his wily batting. Ashwin has played 94 Tests so far and has bagged 489 wickets.
Ravichandran Ashwin has a good ODI record as well. He has bagged 152 wickets in ODIs so far and can deliver the goods under pressure. We can expect that he does the same for India in the ODI format in the IND vs AUS ODI series and also the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
Interestingly, Ashwin has the ability to perform well under pressure. Notably, he was part of India’s title winning ICC ODI World Cup 2011 side and also the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, having bowled the final over against England.
Under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Ashwin has also helped Indian Premier League (IPL) side Chennai Super Kings (CSK), win the title twice. Thus, we can expect that his temperament plays a big role in deciding the proceeding during high-pressure situations.
If Axar Patel doesn’t recover on time, then we can expect Ashwin to be in the Indian squad for the World Cup. He has a golden opportunity of proving his worth in the ongoing ODI series and given the spin-friendly conditions of Indian wickets, Ashwin will be licking his lips.
India begin their ICC ODI World Cup 2023 campaign on 8th October 2023 against Australia. The match will be played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, which is also the home ground of Ravichandran Ashwin.
Rohit Sharma and co. recently won the Asia Cup 2023 and look all set to perform well at the highest stage.
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