Washington Sundar was called up and even appeared in the Asia Cup final, but Karthik has made an intriguing disclosure.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Team India’s premier spinner, returned to the ODI squad after nearly 20 months for the bilateral series against Australia, which acts as a dress rehearsal for the team’s World Cup opener next month. The series against Australia will be India’s final game before the attention shifts to the showpiece global competition, and Ashwin’s return will be crucial as the deadline for final squad confirmation approaches (September 27).
After all-rounder Axar Patel sustained an injury during the Asia Cup Super 4 match against Bangladesh earlier this month, Ashwin was included in the squad. India had opted to bring Washington Sundar for the final and even named him to the XI; Sundar remained in the team for the series against Australia, but Ashwin was chosen ahead of the youngster for the first ODI in Mohali.
Dinesh Karthik, Team India’s outstanding wicketkeeper-batter, has now disclosed why Ashwin was evidently the team management’s first choice in the ODI series. Karthik revealed that Team India sought Ashwin for the Asia Cup final before Sundar, but the veteran spinner declined to come to Sri Lanka because he wasn’t “match-ready.”
R Ashwin was first in the Asia Cup final.
“With some insider knowledge, I’ll end up defending Rohit, Ajit, and Rahul Dravid here.” They actually summoned R Ashwin first in the Asia Cup final. They discussed it, and Ashwin concluded that he wasn’t quite match-ready. As a result, he encouraged me not to go to this game because Washington was playing. He was a member of NCA and competed in local tournaments in Chennai. As a result, Sundar was sent for that one game,” Karthik explained on Cricbuzz.
“After that, Ashwin played in a few local club matches before being called up.” That brought the conversation to a close. At the moment, Ashwin was also their top option. I understand that Washington was duped, but they chose Ashwin first.”
Earlier on Friday, the BCCI released a video interview with the off-spinner in which he stated that the board had kept him in the loop since the August Test series against the West Indies. Ashwin returned home after the two Tests, while the majority of the team stayed in the Caribbean for three ODIs and five T20Is.
“I came back from the Caribbean, took a break, and played a few club games.” When team management raised the possibility, they kept me updated. Be prepared for anything. “I was checking in on my fitness and started bowling a few times,” Ashwin explained.