MUMBAI, Sep 28: Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was impressive on his return to ODI cricket in the recently concluded series against Australia, replaced left-arm spinner Axar Patel in India’s final 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday.
Previously, Axar was part of the 2015 squad and is now all set to miss out on his second ODI World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India’s Asia Cup encounter against Bangladesh.
India have banked on the experience of Ashwin to fill the void left by Axar. Additionally, Ashwin brings in an off-spinning option that was previously missing in India’s World Cup squad, which could prove to be crucial in the 46-day-long tournament when pitches begin to deteriorate.
India begin their World Cup campaign on 7 October against Chennai against five-time Champions Australia. Before the tournament, Rohit Sharma’s men will play two warm-up fixtures, the first against England on 30 September followed by the Netherlands on 3 October.
India World Cup squad:
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav. (IANS)
