Ravichandran Ashwin kept his glimmering hopes of the World Cup alive by bowling a tight spell in the local one-day match for Mylapore Recreational Club A against Young Stars Cricket Club at SSN ground in the TNCA VAP Trophy here on Tuesday. The off-spinner bowled 10 overs, gave just 30 runs, and also picked up one wicket. After finishing the match, Ashwin flew to Chandigarh to join Rohit Sharma & Co for a three-match ODI series against Australia.
Ashwin is included in the squad as the replacement for Axar Patel, who suffered a left quadriceps injury while batting against Bangladesh. The southpaw has been ruled out of the first two matches against Australia. With Kuldeep Yadav also rested for the first two matches, Ashwin is in line to play the first ODI after a gap of 20 months.
After he was recalled for the side, the 37-year-old wanted to test his match fitness and hence, turned out to play a local match. It was a double delight for Ashwin as his team thrashed Young Stars by 28 runs.
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While a lot of fans and experts would have felt that Ashwin would have been rusty, the off-spinner did not seem to be, as he bowled a very economical spell. Also, Mylapore Recreational Club coach Guru Kedarnath hepaed praise on Ashwin and said his control was immaculate throughout the 10 overs.
“He is a world-class player; no questions about it. The control he had in today’s tie was absolutely fantastic,” as reported by Indian Express
India will play its first ODI against Australia on September 22 in Mohali. Ashwin last played ODI against South Africa in January 2022. Overall, Ashwin has played 113 ODIs, picking up 151 wickets.
India squad for 1st & 2nd ODIs
KL Rahul (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Editors pick
