3 reasons why Ravichandran Ashwin's 2023 World Cup selection is right and 2 reasons why it's the wrong move
Ravichandran Ashwin was officially added to India's World Cup 2023 squad on Thursday, September 28, as Axar Patel's replacement. Axar failed to recover in time from the quadriceps strain that he had sustained during the Asia Cup game against Bangladesh.
There were naturally mixed reactions among the cricketing fraternity when Ashwin was picked in the ODI series against Australia. But coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma were pretty clear with what the veteran off-spinner brings to the table.
On that note, let's first take a look at three positives behind Ravichandran Ashwin's ODI World Cup inclusion:
3 reasons why Ravichandran Ashwin's 2023 World Cup selection is right
#1 Experience
The current team management has always banked on experience when it comes to contingency plans due to injury. They went back to Mohammed Shami in last year's T20 World Cup in Jasprit Bumrah's absence and naturally, they picked Ravichandran Ashwin over Washington Sundar.
Although Ashwin has played very little ODI cricket, the way he bowled against Australia in Indore showed that he has the ability to adapt to the conditions, and that perhaps comes with experience.
#2 Knows the pressure of home World Cup
Ravichandran Ashwin was a part of the Indian team that won the World Cup at home in 2011 and understands the kind of pressure that expectations bring in such a massive tournament.
However, along with experience, Ashwin also has an impressive record in Indian conditions with 69 wickets from 44 ODIs on home soil. That could certainly make a difference, especially in crunch situations during big games.
#3 Well-rounded spin attack
While Axar Patel was named as the third spinner in the squad alongside Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, many questioned the variety of India's spin attack. With some teams having quite a few left-handers, there was a certain feeling of having missed out on naming an off-spinner.
However, Ravichandran Ashwin's inclusion has just increased the variety in India's spin department. Apart from his stock ball, Ashwin also has variations like the carrom ball, the slider, and the top spinner in his repertoire, something that can be absolutely handy in the World Cup.
2 reasons why Ravichandran Ashwin's inclusion raised eyebrows
While the aforementioned positives could fill Indian fans with hope, some might still question Ashwin's inclusion, and perhaps their unhappiness might be understandable as well. Here are two reasons why that is the case:
#1 Lack of ODI cricket
Ravichandran Ashwin did play the last two editions of the T20 World Cup and some fans were left stunned at that point as well. However, there were at least some factors to consider, like Ashwin's impressive IPL performances and the unavailability of Washington Sundar due to injury.
However, when it comes to the ODI format, Ashwin had nothing much to show of late as before the Australia series, he last played an ODI way back in January 2022 against South Africa. While Washington Sundar was fit and available for selection, Ashwin, who till the Asia Cup didn't seem to be in India's ODI plans, suddenly seemed to have leapfrogged the youngster.
#2 Contribution as batter and fielder still a doubt
While Axar Patel wasn't in great bowling form of late, he was still producing some absolutely vital knocks at No. 8 and was a gun fielder. The Indian team management has been vocal about having batting depth in the World Cup and Axar was crucial to that ideology.
Ravichandran Ashwin might be an upgrade on Axar the bowler, but his batting in ODIs hasn't quite been as effective as it is in Tests. He has averaged just 16.44 so far with the bat in 115 ODIs, something that might not give the Men in Blue the confidence that Axar gave at No. 8.
Ashwin is arguably not among the quickest fielders in the team and that makes his fielding in deep areas a cause for concern for Team India.
While the Ashwin debate doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, it is up to the veteran off-spinner to produce the goods with a chance to win his second ODI World Cup.