Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma has hinted that team is keeping their options open for a spin-bowling all-rounder spot in the World Cup squad. The Indian skipper’s comments came following India’s emphatic 10-wicket win in IND vs SL Asia Cup final on Sunday. Rohit revealed that Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar are still in line for a World Cup spot.
“I think everyone is in the line with spin bowling all-rounders – I have been speaking to Ashwin as well on the phone so he is very much in the line so is Washi, we want those guys who can do the job with bat & ball”, Rohit said in post-match press conference.
Ashwin’s last ODI appearance was against South Africa in Paarl in January 2022. The veteran spinner has played only two ODIs in the past five years.
Watch full Press Conference Here:
Notably, BCCI have announced India’s provisional ODI World Cup 2023 squad which includes three spinners, namely Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
However, the Indian team management is keen to have backup plans in place due to concerns about the fitness of Axar Patel.
Axar was ruled out of the Asia Cup final due to a left quadriceps strain he sustained during the Super 4s match against Bangladesh on Friday.
Washington Sundar was called up as Axar’s replacement and immediately included in the playing XI for the final against Sri Lanka. However, Sundar did not get the opportunity to either bat or bowl as India bowled Sri Lanka out for just 50 runs.
Notably, teams have until September 28 to make changes to their provisional ODI squads for the World Cup.
India Squad for Cricket World Cup 2023
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav
WKs: Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (VC)
Seam all-rounders: Shardul Thakur
Spin all-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin
Seamers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Spinner: Kuldeep Yadav
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