India spring surprises, recall R Ashwin for Australia series

India’s last chance before the September 28 deadline to submit your final World Cup squad, has seen the BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma name a squad for three ODIs versus Australia, starting September 22, that will leave many scratching their chins.

Missing for the first two ODIs, from the squad that was picked for the Asia Cup, which was won by a smashing ten wickets a day before as well as India’s World Cup squad, are Rohit himself, Virat Kohli, the Asia Cup Player of the Tournament Kuldeep Yadav and the vice-captain Hardik Pandya.

Rest is imperative given that the World Cup starts on October 8 and ends on November 19, but giving rest to players such as Kohli, who has had a middling year on ODIs, and Kuldeep so close to the tournament is somewhat odd. Kohli and Kuldeep were rested for the Asia Cup match versus Bangladesh last Friday, so why they need rest now is a topic that will not sit well with everyone.

Yet that is not the strangest part of India’s selection. Recalled out of the blue is Ravichandran Ashwin, who played the last of his 113 ODIs in January 2022, which themselves came as a surprise for that tour of South Africa given that he had not been picked in the format for over four and a half years. Prima facie, Ashwin’s surprise call-up is because the Indian team management has serious doubts over Axar Patel’s fitness – the left-arm spinner injured himself on Friday during the match against Bangladesh – and because they now suddenly value an offspinner with tons of experience.

However, it can be argued why Ashwin was not deemed necessary for the past 19 months. If India have now, three days since Axar’s injury, felt the need for an offspinner in their ODI setup, then why not Washington Sundar who was flown into Colombo for the Asia Cup final and jettisoned straight into India’s XI for the final on Sunday? Statistically, over the past two years, Washington is India’s third most successful spinner after Kuldeep and the discarded Yuzvendra Chahal.

Yes, he is part of the squad for the ODI series, but Ashwin’s shock inclusion indicates that perhaps the Indian team and its selectors do not have as much faith in Washington as they did last week.

And why now, just two weeks before the Asian Games, Ruturaj Gaikwad finds a place after just two ODI appearances, is another matter of contention.

KL Rahul will captain India for the first two ODIs, four games into his return from a five-month injury layoff. Shreyas Iyer, who missed four matches during the Asia Cup, has been named a day after Rohit termed him “99% percent fit”.

INDIA VERSUS AUSTRALIA

Squad for first two ODIs:  KL Rahul (capt), Ravindra Jadeja (v/c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar

For third ODI: Rohit Sharma (capt), Hardik Pandya (v/c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), R Ashwin, Washington Sundar