CHENNAI: In the end, it wasn't really a surprise. After all, from the moment India captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of the men's selection committee Ajit Agarkar named the provisional squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup, several former players and selectors have called for his inclusion. And as expected, the BCCI has included ace off-spinner R Ashwin in the ODI squad for the three-match series against Australia that will begin in Mohali on September 22.
To an extent, both Rohit and Agarkar have reiterated that Ashwin was in the scheme of things. But what drove them in the direction to include, not just him but also Washington Sundar, for the upcoming series was the injury to Axar Patel during the Asia Cup. While they are confident of Axar's - who will miss the first two matches - recovery, the Australia series gives them a chance to look at both the off-spinners and change the World Cup squad if need be before the deadline ends on September 28.
However, what came as a surprise was that Rohit, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav are actually rested for the first two ODIs to manage workload and look at the options they have in the bench. In their absence KL Rahul will lead the side with Ruturaj Gaikwad filling in as the opening option in place of Rohit. Resting a captain, vice-captain, best batter and spinner ahead of a home World Cup raised a lot of eyebrows, but the selection committee and the team management want to be cautious about keeping them mentally fresh and injury-free before the global event.
After all, the Indian team will be travelling across 14 cities for as many games over the span of next 54 days before the knockout stages of the World Cup begin. Barring Shubman Gill (18 matches), Kuldeep (16), Pandya (16), Rohit (15) and Kohli (15) have played the most number of ODIs this year for India. Rohit emphasised on the significance of mental break given the stringent international calendar.
And what more, they want to test their bench strength and give game-time to players who did not get to play much in the Asia Cup before the World Cup. "Look, we try to give chance to every one. When we have the chance to do that, we try to do that. If we play the same XI through the year, you cannot expect bench strength. We have seen the number of injuries across teams because of no. of matches and travel. The World Cup is going to be the same. We keep travelling and playing matches there. We want to make sure players who are outside have played and have the confidence rather than suddenly coming in and playing," Rohit said in a virtual press conference.
Former chief selector MSK Prasad agrees. He believes that the selectors have made the right call with respect to their planning ahead of the World Cup. Prasad is also delighted about Ashwin's inclusion in the squad. "We always wanted that variety (off-spin), it is unfortunate that Axar got injured and I hope he recovers. I always thought so (Ashwin should be included in the squad) because in Asian Conditions he will be lethal and every team has left-handers," Prasad told this daily.
Ashwin, who last played an ODI in January 2022, has featured in just two 50-over internationals in the last six years. However, the India skipper isn't worried about it and nor is the former chief selector. In fact, he was at the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru last week training with VVS Laxman and Sairaj Bahutule. "With the kind of experience he has, it is all in the head for guys like him. We made that decision of getting him in, speaking to him, understanding where he is with his body and stuff like that. So, it is not like he has not played cricket for the last year or so... the games against Australia will look at where he is at," said Rohit.
As for Shreyas, who picked up a back spasm in Sri Lanka, is concerned, the team management is happy with his rehab and are hoping that he will get through the Australia series without any further injuries.
