There were no signs of an off-spinner in ODIs for 18 months. But Ravichandran Ashwin is all set to be back in ODIs, exactly how he made a comeback in T20s prior to T20 World Cup. The reason? BCCI and the selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, are desperate for World Cup 2023 success to end a 10-year ICC trophy drought.
“Ashwin was never out of the scheme of things. It is up to the selectors who they want to pick for specific formats,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
In fact, when the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee made the core group of players for WC, Ashwin was surprisingly missing. However, there is no better spinner than Ravichandran Ashwin in Indian conditions. In fact, there is not even a single off-spinner in sight to even come close to Ashwin’s spin prowess.
Hence, even though Ashwin was dropped from ODI plans after Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy following the South Africa tour in 2022, he is back in plans as per an Indian Express report. To note, he was dropped from ODIs after bagging just 1 wicket in two matches with an economy rate of 6.05 against South Africa.
The chairman of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, currently with Team India in Barbados, is the mastermind. Out of the four spinners currently in the Indian scheme of things, two each have similar skills.
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Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are left-arm spinners while Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are leg-spinners. As effective as they could be, they have been pretty helpless against left-handers. Thus, selectors are discussing whether to send an SOS to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ravichandran Ashwin in 50-over cricket:
| Format | Mat | Balls | Wkts | BBI | Avg | Econ | 4w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 113 | 6141 | 151 | 4/25 | 33.49 | 4.94 | 1 |
| List A | 173 | 9352 | 231 | 4/25 | 31.35 | 4.64 | 1 |
| World Cup | 10 | 582 | 17 | 4/25 | 24.88 | 4.36 | 1 |
Following the West Indies ODIs, selectors will finalise plans for Asia Cup 2023 and World Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma & Co will be at the pre-Asia Cup camp at the National Cricket Academy. During this camp, selectors will take a final call on Ashwin’s return to ODIs. If everything goes well, Ashwin will make his ODI comeback in Asia Cup in September.
Why is Ashwin back in plans for World Cup 2023?
1. No back-up: Last year, on a podcast, Ashwin expressed his dismay about the ODI format. He said he “switches off the telly after a point of time” during an ODI. But irrespective of his lack of interest in the game, there is no backup off-spinner in the Indian roster. The next best is Washington Sundar. But as he is in Asian Games squad, he is not in WC plans. With India hosting the World Cup 2023, there is no better spinner than Ashwin.
2. Desperation: To put it bluntly, the lack of options has given rise to separation. Both Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma have their jobs on the line after repeated failures in multi-national tournaments. And even if Ashwin can’t be a wicket-taking option, he could very well be the restrictive option that will help other bowlers get wickets. Picture this, Ashwin has an economy of 4.94 in 113 matches he has played, scalping 151 wickets.
3. Lack of all-round options: Unlike the 2011 WC at home, the current Indian setup has more batters than all-rounders. Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan could all roll up their sleeves. But none of the Top 5 in the current team can do that. It is a team of specialists. Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are three all-rounders but none can bamboozle a left-hander.
4. Spin-friendly venues: Another reason why Ashwin is back in plans is WC venues. Out of 9 venues, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Lucknow will all assist spin. Hence, India may opt for three spinners in the Playing XI to hunt down opponent batters. Ashwin bringing in his variety of skills could be crucial.
5. World Cup winner: The last time India won a World Cup title, Ashwin was part of it. In fact, he was also part of India’s last ICC trophy in the Champions Trophy 2013. With skills to bowl with the new ball and even open the bowling attack in WC, he will be a handy option.
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