"It's better I don't come for this game" - Dinesh Karthik discloses R Ashwin's answer when called for Asia Cup 2023 final
Dinesh Karthik has disclosed that the Indian team management first reached out to Ravichandran Ashwin to play in the Asia Cup 2023 final as a replacement for Axar Patel. However, Ashwin felt he was not match ready, which is why the team management then called Washington Sundar to Sri Lanka.
Axar Patel was India's secondary spin-bowling all-rounder in Asia Cup 2023. During the last game of the Super Fours round against Bangladesh, Patel got hurt, which led to him being ruled out of the final against Sri Lanka.
India needed a spin-bowling all-rounder as Patel's replacement, but they did not have any options in the squad. As a result, they reached out to Ravichandran Ashwin and then Washington Sundar, who were in India.
"Rohit (Sharma), Ajit (Agarkar) and Rahul Dravid actually called up R Ashwin first for the Asia Cup final. I think they had a conversation and Ashwin felt he was not match ready yet. So he said that, 'It's better I don't come for this game'," Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz Live (22:05).
Since Ravichandran Ashwin was not ready, the next available option was Washington Sundar. He was prepping up for the Asian Games at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and traveled to Sri Lanka soon after.
"Washington Sundar had been playing local games in Chennai" - Dinesh Karthik explains why the all-rounder played in Asia Cup 2023 final
Dinesh Karthik is teammates with Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar in the Tamil Nadu domestic team. He revealed that Sundar had been playing local tournaments in Chennai, which kept him match ready. Since he was at the NCA preparing for the Asian Games, the Indian team management called him to Sri Lanka.
"Washington Sundar had been playing local games in Chennai, and he had been in NCA preparing (for Asian Games). So they sent Washingon Sundar for that one game. By then, Ashwin played a couple of local club matches, and you know, they picked him. That was the whole conversation," Dinesh Karthik concluded.
Notably, Sundar was called at 1 am in the morning on Saturday to join the team in Sri Lanka for the final the day after. He traveled to Chennai from Bengaluru for his passport and then took a flight to Colombo. Sundar neither batted nor bowled in the final as India crushed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the Asia Cup 2023 final.