Subscribe
Follow Us
Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's inclusion in India's ODI World Cup squad in place of the injured Axar Patel led to a wild conspiracy theory by an Indian cricket pundit.
According to the bombshell claim made by cricket columnist Ayaz Memon, Indian captain Rohit Sharma was aware of Axar Patel's situation for multiple weeks.
He even knew that the Gujarat cricketer would not be fit for the World Cup, yet the Indian team management continued to peddle lies about Axar Patel's fitness.
Additionally, the Team India think tank comprising Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid realized that three left-arm spinners were just too many, and they needed someone of Ravichandran Ashwin's experience in the line-up.
“Injured Axar Patel out of WC, replaced by Ashwin. This was approved some weeks back but team management shrewdly threw everyone off the scent. 3 left arm spinners in squad was one too many. Also, no one's performed better on Indian pitches than Ash. Team looks complete now,” Ayaz Memon said in a social media post.
Importantly, Axar Patel has an average of 30 and a strike rate of 106.01 with the bat since the beginning of 2022. Plus, he has been highly effective with the ball, taking 14 wickets during the same period. Yet, he missed the World Cup ticket because of an injury he suffered only a fortnight ago.
Axar Patel suffered a quadriceps injury during India's match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka earlier this month.
The left-arm orthodox bowler was sent to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to expedite his recovery but failed to get fit for the tournament.
Several fans and cricket pundits shared their thoughts about Axar Patel's misfortune.
“It was always going to be Ashwin after those two games against Australia. Really feel for Axar Patel and hopefully, he will get the big stage another day. India have preferred to go in with more bowling skill than a more all-round package. If Hardik is bowling well, I see Ashwin in the first choice eleven,” cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted.
“I just hate matches so close to the World Cup. Look what injury has done to Axar Patel. He could have pushed Jadeja for his spot with batting and bowling. He will be devastated. The chance to play in a home World Cup is gone due to injury. Sometimes life is so cruel,” a fan wrote on the microblogging platform.
“I'm happy for Ashwin Anna that he got in the World Cup squad, but I feel bad for Axar Patel. A clearly better batsman than Ash, but he got injured just before the World Cup and missed the opportunity. When you're injured before such a big event, it can be really frustrating. Axar Patel, here's to a super strong recovery,” another Indian cricket admirer said.
Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin, who last played an ODI in January 2022 before being drafted into the Indian team for the recently concluded three-match series against Australia, impressed almost everyone, including the fans, selectors and former players with his performance against Pat Cummins and his boys.
In the two games he played against the Kangaroos, Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed four wickets. His figures of 3/41 in Indore, where he posed serious problems for Australian batters, appear to have convinced skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid to recall him for the World Cup.
Besides, the World Cup is being played in India, handing Ravichandran Ashwin a massive advantage in home conditions. With his wide range of variations and ability to impart turn on his stock balls, he could be lethal on slow and dry Indian pitches.
Ravichandran Ashwin will be a part of a trio of spinners that features Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in the Indian bowling line-up.
“India have been forced to make a late change to their 15-member squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India's Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result. Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named his replacement, who was impressive on his return to ODI cricket in the recently concluded series against Australia where he picked up four wickets in two games,” the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on its official website.
For the unversed, Ravichandran Ashwin is only the second cricketer who was also a part of India's previous World Cup triumph in 2011, the other being talismanic batter Virat Kohli.
India's squad for ICC ODI World Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, 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.
Two-time champions India open their World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8.
