"Don't ask me how...it's just a feeling" - Dinesh Karthik reckons Ravichandran Ashwin will break into India's 2023 World Cup squad

Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels off-spinning all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin will make his way into India's squad for the 2023 World Cup.

Karthik, who last played for India at the T20 World Cup in Australia last year, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his thoughts on his good friend and fellow statemate (Tamil Nadu) with whom he has also played a fair number of games for India.

Ashwin's name has been doing the rounds for quite a while now on the back of Axar Patel's quadriceps strain.

While Thursday, September 28, marks the deadline for teams to make changes to their provisional squads for the 2023 World Cup, replacements thereafter can be made upon the approval of the ICC's technical committee.

Karthik stated that he wasn't sure how Ashwin would get in, mentioning that it was just a hunch.

Here's a look at his post on X:

It is worth noting that the ace off-spinner was spotted in Guwahati on Thursday with his fellow India teammates.

The Men in Blue are slated to play England in their first warmup match in the city on Saturday, September 30, before facing The Netherlands in their final warmup fixture on Tuesday, October 3, in Thiruvananthapuram.

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How did R Ashwin fare in the ODI series against Australia?

Ashwin was named in India's squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia that concluded on Wednesday, September 27. He played the first two matches and turned in excellent returns to throw his hat into the ring for the 2023 World Cup.

After a disappointing start in the first ODI in Mohali, he bounced back to finish with tidy returns of 1/47 off his 10 overs. He backed it up with a magnificent spell of bowling in Indore, returning with figures of 3/41 off seven overs in a rain-curtailed match as he used his variations to brilliant effect to derail the Australian chase.

India won both those matches to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series before Australia pulled one back with a 66-run win in Rajkot.

Incidentally, it's Ashwin's hometown of Chennai where India begin their 2023 World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8.

Whether the veteran off-spinner makes it to the main squad by then is something that remains to be seen but he has certainly made a compelling case in the recent ODI series.

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Should India rope R Ashwin into their main squad for the 2023 World Cup? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below!

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