Not Sure Whether Rohit Sharma Will Play Ravichandran Ashwin: Sunil Gavaskar's Explosive Remark Ahead Of India's World Cup Opener

India will kick off their ICC Cricket World Cup Campaign on 8th October against Australia in Chennai. In the recently concluded IND Vs AUS ODI Series, we saw a lot of positives from the Indian team. One of the talking points of the series was Ravichandran Ashwin returning to the ODI team.

The veteran spinner took four wickets in two ODIs and as a result of his performance, he replaced injured Axar Patel in India’s World Cup squad. This will be Ravichandran Ashwin’s third World Cup as a player, he was a part of the World Cup-winning team in 2011.

Even after being selected in the squad, a spot in the playing XI is not fixed for Ashwin and he will most likely serve as a backup option with the team going with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI alongside three fast bowlers. However, Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar feels that Ashwin should be included in the playing XI because of his experience.

Ravichandran Ashwin Will Be Useful In The Middle Overs

“It is the middle overs which is the worry, we saw what a good pitch this was so players can play through the line when the ball is not deviating or turn or bounce. And this is where Ashwin with his experience and his canniness will play as a key factor. I’m not sure if they will play him in the XI for the big matches but he is the kind of bowler who can get you wickets in the middle overs, and that doesn’t allow partnerships to build and subsequently, a team can be restricted to a low total,” said Gavaskar.

Ravichandran Ashwin has troubled the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith, and many other big names in the middle overs and the fact that most of them will be playing in the World Cup makes Ashwin’s inclusion in the playing XI even more important. However, the question remains the same whether he will get a spot or not.

India will play two warm-up matches against England and the Netherlands respectively and it will be a good opportunity to test Ashwin’s skills based on what, the team management should consider him in the playing XI. Ravichandran Ashwin has always delivered whenever the team has wanted him to deliver and he can bat as well.