The team for India’s forthcoming three-match ODI series against Australia has been announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Ashwin, whose last ODI appearance was in January 2022, was recalled to the team after captain Rohit Sharma said the veteran spinner is competing for a spot in the World Cup.
Karim explains the reason behind Ashwin’s inclusion
Former Indian wicketkeeper Saba Karim recently explained the reasoning behind Ravichandran Ashwin’s ODI comeback barely weeks before the World Cup.
He said that Ashwin, a seasoned off-spinner, is seen by Rohit as a match-winner who will enter the contest with an aggressive attitude.
Karim explained, “I think Rohit Sharma looks at Ravichandran Ashwin as a match-winner and he’s very clear in the kind of approach he wants to portray in white ball cricket,” Saba Karim said on Jio TV. “Now with the World Cup coming up, he understands the dynamics of one-day cricket quite well and knows that he has to pick players who have that kind of an attacking mindset.”
Even though Ashwin hasn’t participated in an ODI for nearly two years now, he has a lot of international experience. He is one of the top off-spinners in the cricket world at the moment, in layman language he is a player who can bowl and whack too.
Karim added that Rohit Sharma desires to have at least five options for attacking bowling
Saba Karim opines that Rohit Sharma has called up Ashwin in order to provide him with at least five wicket-taking options for the World Cup.
Karim explained, “He also knows that in his bowling lineup, he needs to have out of six, at least five wicket-taking options and if he has Ashwin in the eleven, then that attacking option is available”
On September 22, a three-match ODI series against Australia will mark the beginning of the Men in Blue’s final phase of preparations. Then, on October 8, India will begin their World Cup campaign against the same opponents in Chennai.
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