Last Update on: September 26th, 2023 at 02:53 pm
Former Indian cricketer and active commentator Sanjay Bangar believes that Ravichandran Ashwin could replace Axar Patel in the 15-man World Cup squad if the latter doesn’t recover from his injury in time.
The World Cup 2023 is going to start on 5th October. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad for the World Cup on Tuesday, 5 September. There have been several big names who were not picked in the squad. The most shocking name was Yuzvendra Chahal who had been part of the team for very long. India’s spin bowling unit for the World Cup consists of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
During the match against Bangladesh on September 15, in the Asia Cup 2023, Axar got injured facing a tear in his quadriceps. In place of him, Washington Sundar was added to the playing 11 for the final against Sri Lanka.
Ravichandran Ashwin could certainly do a job at No.8 if needed – Sanjay Bangar
In the 3 ODI match series against Australia, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was added to the squad and also in the playing 11. He bowled brilliantly in the 2nd ODI picking 3 wickets in just 7 overs. Axar’s comeback to the team is in doubt so the question is who could replace him if he doesn’t get fit in the upcoming World Cup.
While talking to Star Sports, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar said Ravichandran Ashwin would be the best option who could replace Axar Patel if he doesn’t recover from injury. Sanjay said:
”If Axar Patel doesn’t get fit soon then it will be a problem (for his World Cup chances) as Ashwin will have his bowling to offer. His stats with the bat aren’t as good in ODIs as they are in Tests, but he could certainly do a job at No.8 if needed.”
He was also asked whether it would be fair to drop Axar Patel. He said:
“Look it will depend on the conditions as well. If you find conditions in Chennai are such that you have to play third spinner against Australia, and if you don’t have Axar available, then you need to make the change.”
“You can’t just play some other combination and wait for the player to get fit later. It’s a long tournament just like the IPL and you need to start well rather than thinking about the deep end of the tournament”, he added.