betvisa liveCricket World Cup 2023: Ravi Ashwin replacing Axar Patel

Axar Patel has multiple niggles, and R. Ashwin h𒉰as endless tricks. So why have India pivoted towards the world’s best off spinner, ahead of their big-hitting left-arm finger spinner?

Statistical dilemma: Ashwin’s ODI numbers

Ashwin has cemented his legacy as an elite red ball off-spinner, who is no mug with the bat either, but his ODI numbers are far from flattering. 155 wickets in 113 innings, at a mediocre average of 33.20 for a bowler of his calibre, is underwhelming. Like many finger spinners, scoring off him is hard – his economy is just under 5 – but the fact that he has never taken 5 wickets in an innings in the format, and has a solitary 4 wicket haul, suggests he struggles to strike.

He has played just 4 ODIs since the 2017 Champions Trophy, and was dropped after the final because India had more attacking options in Kuldeep and Chahal. However, hꦗe kept reinventing his all-round game.&n♊bsp;

Crafty innovator: Ashwin as a ‘thinking cricketer’

If experience🍒 was the benchmark for selection here, Ashwin checked that box multiple times with a permanent marker. He is also one of the most intelligent cricketers of his generation, and arguably of all time, having made a living out of outsmarting batters on the regular.

Throughout his career, he has dabbled with a plethora of variations to stay one step🍌 ahead of opposition teams, and has consequently earned the label of what we call a ‘thinking cricketer’. In fact, in the recent ODIs vs Australia, Ashwin cleaned up ꦑMarnus Labuschagne with a sliding carrom ball, about which he had the following to say:

“I’m using my third finger to bowl the carrom ball and the off-break. So maybe, hopefully, it wil𒉰l hold me in good stead. I worked a little bit with Sairaj [Bahutule] at NCA. Working on different angles and slightly different grips.”

Also, if we are being honest, it doesn’t at all look lik🌌e a carrom ball.💎 So he could be playing games already.

Clearly, the wily off-spinner is still innovating and trying new things, working his brain in overtime, continuing to upskill inܫ the process. Do keep in mind that 🐻Ashwin has tried his hand at wrist spin as well. 

The age factor: Ashwin’s late-career surge

He’s 3💎7 years old, and clearly not the best athlete in the field, but his smarts and experiღence, coupled with his leadership abilities, having captained the Punjab Kings in the 2018 and 2019 editions of the IPL, make him somewhat of a priceless commodity to have in your squad.

Captain Rohit Sharma had this toﷺ say about his long-time teammate, before the 3rd ODI against Australia:

“You cannot take away the class and the experience that Ashwin has over the years and in the last couple of games we saw how well he bowled. He’s got a lot of variations up his sleeves.”

That statement certainly suggests that Ashwin was the prime contender to replace Axar, if the latter failed to regain his fitness. Here is the catch though. Axar Pa𓂃tel was originally selected on the basis of his all-round ability, particularly to ad🐻d some depth to India’s batting order.

So, while he can do more than hold a bat, averaging 16 in ODI cricket, the ge൲nius offie from Tamil Nadu is not a like-for-like substitute for Axar.

Selection conundrum: Ashwin vs alternatives

Yuzvendra Chahal missed out on a World Cup berth largely owing to his impotence with the bat (and the fact he spins the ball the same way as Axar and Ravi Jadeja), so perhaps Ajit Agarkar and his team of selectors could have opted for someone like, say, Washington Sundar over Ashwinꦗ, who averages 3 runs less with the ball than the senior pro, and nearly 28 with the bat. Washington opening the batting against Australia in the final ODI was an interesting development.

Often in these situations, people go with their favourite. But the truth is, there isn’t a right answer, as there wasn’𝄹t for leaving out Chahal. India has five of the best spin options in this tournament, you can’t pick them all.

It would have drawn some ire as well, had India chosen to look the other way, given how frequently Ashwin has been left out on important occasions in the recent past. Not to mention that he was part of India’s squads in both the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champion Trophy campaigns, both of which resulted in trophies – the latter being the last time India were crowned champions in an ICC tournament.

Furthermore, Ashwin has accounted for 94 ODI scalps in Asia, which is over 60% of his wicket tally in the format, averaging 4 runs less on the continent than his overall career. Nowhere else across the globe does Ashwin have a better average or strike rate – something the selectors must have considered.

They might have also observed how꧒ Ashwin is seemingly pushing harder for wickets and offers a different skill-set with the ball than Axar, who, if we’re being honest, was a bit too similar to the kind of bowler Ravindra Jadeja is.

Conclusion: The Ashwin equation in India’s Cricket World Cup campaign

The torchbearer of the Mankad in the 21st century, Ashwin has done his bit with respect to both changing and contributing to our beautiful sport. His dressing room influence will without doubt help team India in a home Cricket World Cup, and his ꧙wits could൩, in theory, win some game-deciding match-ups.

In the 2023 Cricket World Cup, talent, adaptability, and experience usually win out, and that is something which the selectors will be hoping stands true. No one has more of t𒊎🤪hose three skills than R Ashwin.