What happened when Ravichandran Ashwin last played an ODI?
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently earned a recall into the ODI side after nearly 20 months. Ashwin's inclusion for the upcoming ODI series against Australia also indicated that the doors are not yet completely closed for his participation in the upcoming World Cup at home.
Bowling all-rounder Axar Patel's injury has forced Indian team management to look at other options to have a back-up plan in case the need arises in the near future. Axar suffered a quadriceps injury during the Super 4 Asia Cup match against Bangladesh. Washington Sundar replaced Axar for the Asia Cup final on Sunday.
With Axar ruled out for the first two ODIs against Australia, the selectors roped in both Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin in the squad to audition for the role of back-up spin bowling all-rounder.
Ashwin last played an ODI back in January last year in South Africa. It was the second ODI of the 3-match series during India's tour of South Africa. India batted first in the contest and made 287/6 in 50 overs.
Rishabh Pant (85), KL Rahul (55), and Shardul Thakur (40) provided vital contributions for Men in Blue with the bat. Ashwin also played a handy knock in the death overs, scoring 25* (24), including a four and six.
South Africa's top and middle order performed efficiently and helped their side cruise towards the target in 48.1 overs. Janneman Malan (91) and Quinton de Kock (78) were the top performers for the Proteas in the batting department.
Ravichandran Ashwin had a forgettable outing with the ball as he conceded 68 runs in his 10-over spell and went wicketless. After a dismal outing, team management dropped him for the final match of the series and gave chance to Jayant Yadav. He did not feature in the ODI squad after that series until now.
A look at ODI stats of Ravichandran Ashwin
The 37-year-old off-spinner has played 113 ODI matches so far and has picked 151 wickets at an average of 33.49, and a strike rate of 40.6, with 4/25 being his best figures.
He has also scored 707 runs with the bat at an average of 16.44 and a strike rate of 86.96, including a half-century. 65 against New Zealand in Auckland in 2014 is his highest score.