Is Ravichandran Ashwin playing today’s IND vs ENG match of 2023 World Cup?
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin hasn't found a place in India's playing XI for their 2023 World Cup match against England at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29.
Several experts had predicted that Ashwin could be included in the starting XI as India were expected to go ahead with three spinners on the spin-friendly pitch. The Men in Blue, however, decided not to make any changes to their lineup.
It is worth mentioning that Ashwin was a late addition to India's 15-member roster. He replaced Axar Patel in the squad after the all-rounder was ruled out of the showpiece event due to injury.
India will be batting first for the first time in the ongoing ICC event as England won the toss and elected to field first. Speaking at the toss, Rohit Sharma seemed happy with the decision. He said:
"We wanted to bat first, we have had a good time batting second. Looks like a good pitch, it's a new surface which has been relayed here. It has played well for the 100 overs. I mean it's quite important to think like that but it's important to get the two points. We have played some good cricket. It's always good to have a break. It's nice to come back here and get back into business. We are playing the same team we played in the last game."
India successfully chased down targets in all of their first five encounters. They are currently the only unbeaten team in the competition and are placed second in the points table.
Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a wonderful spell in India's 2023 World Cup match vs Australia
Ravichandran Ashwin has played just one match in the 2023 World Cup so far. He featured in India's opening encounter of the tournament against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8.
He bowled a miserly spell, conceding just 34 runs from his full quota of 10 overs while taking one wicket. Rohit Sharma and Co. won the match with six wickets to spare by chasing down the 200-run target.
Here are the playing XIs for the 2023 World Cup match between India and England:
India XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England XI: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood