IND vs PAK: Muttiah Muralitharan Prefers Ravichandran Ashwin Over Axar Patel, Says 'He Is One Of The Best Bowlers In The World'

Former Sri Lankan spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan opened up on India’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad and said that he would have kept Ravichandran Ashwin over Axar Patel in the 15-member squad.

Ravichandran Ashwin last played a white ball cricket in November 2022 against England in a T20I match following which he has not featured in any limited-overs cricket for the Men in Blues.

In the ODI, Ashwin made his debut in 2010 against Sri Lanka and played 113 matches and took 151 wickets with an economy rate of 4.94. In the T20I, the 36-year-old played his first game in 2010 against Zimbabwe and featured in 65 matches where he snared 72 wickets.

In the long format cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin is the number one ICC Test bowler and played 94 matches where he scalped 489 wickets. Ashwin made his debut in T20I in 2011 against West Indies.

On Tuesday (September 5th), the chief selector of Indian cricket, Ajit Agarkar, and Rohit Sharma held a press conference where they announced the 15-member squad, however, kept the veteran spinner out of the squad, and included Axar Patel for his ability with the bat.

The selection committee of Indian cricket have not made any changes from the Asia Cup 2023 and kept the same team. Only Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna were excluded from the team.

I would have gone to him: Muttiah Muralidharan on Ravichandran Ashwin

While speaking to News18 in an exclusive conversation, Muttiah Muralidharan talked about how the 36-year-old’s presence in the playing eleven in the extravaganza could have lent variation to India’s bowling attack.

However, Ravichandran Ashwin’s current form opens a bigger picture that acknowledges Axar Patel’s presence in the 15-member squad.

“He is one of the best bowlers in the world and when it comes to variations, I would have gone to him, but a player’s current form also comes into the picture and the people who have made the selection thought that Axar is done really well both by bat and ball and it would be unfair not to give him a chance,” Muttiah Muralitharan said.

Before the start of the prestigious trophy, India will lock horns against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday (September 10th) at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

India’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.