Senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is all set for comeback in ODIs after a whopping 610 days. He was a surprise call-up in IND vs AUS 3-match ODI series with just two weeks to go for World Cup. It has been some time since Ashwin played his game in the 50-over format for India. However, the veteran off-spinner now has a chance to revive his World Cup hopes if he does well against the Men in Yellow. Recently, he also participated in a domestic 50-over match where he did well by giving just 30 runs and taking one wicket.
Ashwin back in WC plans?
While Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel will feature in the series, Ashwin will be the most experienced one in the first two IND vs AUS ODIs. While he will have competition from Washington Sundar, considering World Cup is happening in India, Rahul Dravid will want to try out Ashwin at least against Australia in the 50-over format. The 2011 World Cup winner can reignite hopes for another WC if he does well against Australia.
Ashwin has decent numbers in ODIs having played 113 matches and taking 151 wickets. He also has a good economy rate of 4.94 with 4/25 being his best figure. The right-arm spinner has been a proven performer for India in the Test format and can be quite deadly on turning tracks. With the bat, Ashwin has a decent average of 16.44 with one fifty to his name.
To note, the 37-year-old was also part of the World Cup winning squad in 2011 and played a crucial role in the quarter-final’s of that match against Australia. With a tournament like WC, Rohit has some of the senior players in form of Kohli, Jadeja and Hardik but Ashwin can also add up to the think tank value on the field.
However, Ashwin has to first focus on the Australia series as the Aussie batters are coming to the series with some form. The likes of Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner play spin well and it won’t be an easy task for the veteran spinner. As mentioned above, India will face Australia in the 1st ODI on Friday (September 22) in Mohali.
Editors pick
