After a six-year gap, the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja is poised to make a return in the upcoming India vs Australia ODI series starting on Friday, September 22 in Mohali. Ashwin, once again, finds himself back in the Indian limited-overs team due to Axar Patel’s injury, making him part of the squad for the three-match ODI series against the Australians.
Ashwin is primarily being considered as a backup option to Kuldeep Yadav and a potential third spinner if the pitches in the IND vs AUS series turn out to be dry and conducive to spin. If he gets a chance to play alongside Jadeja, it will mark the first time in six years that this spin duo will bowl together in an ODI match. Their last partnership occurred during the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, a match India lost by a significant margin of 180 runs.
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Ashwin, a seasoned spinner with 113 ODIs under his belt, has an impressive record of 151 wickets and a remarkable economy rate of 4.94. He played a crucial role in India’s ODI setup until the 2017 Champions Trophy when the leadership, led by Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri, sought more effective wicket-taking options in the middle overs. This led them to turn to the wrist-spinning duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Aside from Virat Kohli, Ashwin is the only current Indian cricketer who has experienced World Cup victory, notably in the 2011 tournament hosted in India. His ability to perform consistently on the grand stage requires no detailed explanation, and few players who have represented India have displayed as much determination and focus as he has. Although he hasn’t been in action since the end of July, he hasn’t allowed his skills to diminish during this time.
India squad for Australia (1st & 2nd ODI): KL Rahul (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna (1st & 2nd ODI)
For 3rd ODI: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
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