R Ashwin replaces Axar Patel in India’s 15-member squad.

Delhi: India have made a last-minute change to their squad for the 2023 World Cup as off-spinner R Ashwin returned to the 15-man squad, replacing the injured Axar Patel. Ashwin traveled with the team to Guwahati on Thursday, September 29, where India will play their first warm-up match against defending champions England on September 30.

This will be Ashwin’s 3rd 50-over World Cup appearance. Ashwin and Virat Kohli are the only 2 members of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad who will play the upcoming edition of the quadrennial 50-over spectacle.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia has been great. 

The 37-year-old could add some much-needed variety to India’s bowling line-up, which currently lacks an off-spinner. Patel, on the other hand, is a much better batsman at number 8, as his performances over the past year or so have shown.Ashwin’s inclusion has come as a surprise, with things changing quickly. He was not part of the 15-man squad announced by the BCCI in late August. At the time, India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar pointed out that while Ashwin was one of the contenders, the selectors and the team management had opted for Axar, whom they felt provided batting depth. In the Asia Cup, when Axar got injured and returned to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, the BCCI drafted Washington Sundar as his replacement.

Both Washington and Ashwin were included three-match ODI series against Australia that followed, which India won 2-1. That series was the first time Ashwin, 37, had played for India in ODIs in 18 months.

India’s final squad for the ICC World Cup 2023

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