After an 18-month absence of an off-spinner in ODIs, Ravichandran Ashwin is set to make a comeback, similar to his return in T20s before the T20 World Cup. The reason behind this decision is the BCCI and the selection committee’s strong desire for success in the World Cup 2023 to end a 10-year ICC trophy drought.
Surprisingly, when the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee initially formed the core group of players for the World Cup, Ashwin was not included. However, it is evident that there is no better spinner than Ashwin in Indian conditions, and there are no other off-spinners even close to matching his spin prowess.
Despite being dropped from ODI plans after Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy following the South Africa tour in 2022 due to a disappointing performance, Ashwin is now back in consideration for the team, according to an Indian Express report.
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Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the selection committee and currently with Team India in Barbados, is behind this strategic move. Among the four spinners currently in the Indian team’s plans, two are left-arm spinners (Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel), while the other two are leg-spinners (Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav). However, they have struggled against left-handers, and this has led to discussions about recalling Ashwin to address this issue.
The final decision on Ashwin’s return to ODIs will be made after the West Indies ODIs, during the pre-Asia Cup camp at the National Cricket Academy. If all goes well, Ashwin will make his ODI comeback during the Asia Cup in September.