Ashwin replaces injured Axar Patel in India''s World Cup squad

NEW DELHI: India have predictably named veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as a replacement for injured spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel in their 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup, ICC announced on Thursday.

Axar had sustained a quadriceps tear and is not expected to recover anytime soon, forcing the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to name the 37-year-old Ashwin, who took four wickets in the two ODIs in the recently concluded series against Australia, in the squad. ''Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India's Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result,'' ICC stated in a media release. ''Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named his replacement, who was impressive on his return to ODI cricket in the recently concluded series against Australia where he picked up four wickets in two games,'' the release further stated.

The writing was there on the wall when Axar failed to recover on time for the third ODI against Australia in Rajkot.

Ashwin travelled with the Indian team to Guwahati where they will play the first warm-up game against England on Saturday, September 30.

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.