Is Ravichandran Ashwin playing today in the 2023 World Cup? Exploring India’s bowling combination for IND vs AUS match
Completing a remarkable ODI comeback, Ravichandran Ashwin is part of India's playing 11 for their 2023 World Cup against Australia in Chennai.
He was not a part of the team's ODI plans for months until the backup spinner for this period, Axar Patel, suffered an injury during the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.
The left-arm orthodox spinner was excluded from the squad for the first two ODIs against Australia but kept in for the third. Later, Axar was removed from that and the preliminary World Cup squad as he failed to recover.
Ashwin was called back to the team for the first time since January 2022. He reposed the faith with bowling figures of 1/47 and 3/41 in the two ODIs against Australia in the build-up to the World Cup. The veteran spinner was eventually included in India's updated squad for the marquee tournament.
Ashwin has an excellent ODI record at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, his home ground - five wickets from three matches at an average of 19.80. Overall in India, he has played 44 ODIs, picking up 69 wickets at an average of 30.36.
What is India's bowling combination with Ravichandran Ashwin?
India have gone with three spinners against Australia, with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja being the other two. The Chepauk pitch has favored spin in recent times. Since 2021, spinners have picked up 11 ODI wickets here at an average of 21.18 compared to the pacers claiming seven scalps at and average of 39.71.
Axar Patel wasn't in great bowling form before he got injured but contributed quite a lot of important runs in the lower order. With Ravichandran Ashwin's batting capabilities untested for a long time, and Jadeja struggling for ODI runs for a year now, the new bowling combination leaves India a bit thin in the batting lineup.
The two fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya might get a bit of movement early on but will have to settle for more of a holding role throughout the match.