Ravichandran Ashwin replaces Axar Patel in India’s World Cup squad

The Indian cricket team was forced to announce a late injury replacement to their World Cup squad as Axar Patel failed to recover in time after copping a quadriceps strain against Bangladesh in the recently concluded Asia Cup. 

Ravichandran Ashwin has been called up to replace Axar in the squad following a sizzling display in the bilateral series against Australia. He clinched four wickets from two games in the series.

The inclusion of Ashwin adds the off-spinning variety to the Indian squad that was previously missing. He will now join Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as the three spinners in the squad.

More importantly, Ashwin brings a boatload of experience to the side and he has also been a part of two World Cups, the first being 2011 while the second was in 2015 where he clinched 13 wickets from eight games.

Talking about India’s squad post the series finale against Australia, Rohit Sharma said, “When we talk about the 15 we are very clear what we want. We are not confused, we know where we are headed as a team. It's a team sport and we want everyone to come and play their part - that's how we win championships. It's about looking after the body and trying to stay fresh for the next one and half months.”

India World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.