R Ashwin or Yuzvendra Chahal - Who should replace Axar Patel in World Cup squad if Indian all-rounder fails to recover from injury?
India's World Cup 2023 squad was announced earlier this month. Spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel was one of the 15 men named in the team. Patel did an impressive job for the team in the Asia Cup 2023, and fans expected him to continue in the same vein in the World Cup.
However, during the last game of the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours round, Axar Patel got injured. He is yet to recover from the injury. Since Patel was ruled out of the entire series against Australia, the BCCI selection committee would have started discussions on Axar's possible replacement in the World Cup squad.
While Axar is expected to recover in time for the World Cup, India have two solid backup options available in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, who can replace him. Here's an analysis of which player should replace the all-rounder if he does not recover for the World Cup.
India's World Cup 2023 squad neither has an off-spinner nor a leg-spinner
India picked three spinners in the World Cup squad. The first was left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and the other two were slow left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Interestingly, the Indian squad does not have an off-spinner like Ravichandran Ashwin or a leg-spinner like Yuzvendra Chahal.
In case Patel misses out on the bus to the mega event, the Indian selectors will likely add a spinner to the squad. Since Patel also contributes to the batting department, the team management may opt for a spin-bowling all-rounder.
Yuzvendra Chahal's batting stats are not so inspiring. In fact, his poor batting is one of the reasons why India dropped him from the ODI squad. As far as the leg-spinner's numbers in ODI cricket are concerned, he has aggregated 77 runs in 14 innings at an average of less than 10 and a strike rate of close to 50.
When India pick Chahal in the playing XI along with three other specialist bowlers, it results in a long tail. The long tail has cost India a few wins in the recent past, which is why captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have aimed to have an all-rounder batting at number eight.
In Asia Cup 2023, pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur or Axar Patel batted at number eight, depending on the pitch. India will likely follow the same strategy in the World Cup 2023.
What is R Ashwin's batting record in ODIs?
While Yuzvendra Chahal's statistics in batting are not so good, R Ashwin has a better record with the bat. Ashwin has scored 707 runs in 63 innings for India. Notably, the all-rounder has recorded one half-century as well. His highest score is 65 and his strike rate is 85.
Ashwin also has impressive numbers with the bat in Test cricket. Since the 37-year-old brings a lot more experience to the table as well, India should pick him in the World Cup 2023 squad if Axar Patel is ruled out of the mega event.
Ashwin returned to ODI cricket after 20 months recently and performed decently against Australia, tilting the balance in his favor.