Piyush Chawla says, "Ashwin is walking straight into India, playing 11 against Australia"
Piyush Chawla an Indian spinner firmly believes that Ravichandran Ashwin will play the opening match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against Australia in Chennai on October 8. Chawla added that Ashwin's extensive experience of performing admirably in spin-friendly conditions will help the Indian cricket team.
Team India made a last-minute change to their World Cup squad by welcoming back spinner Ashwin, who replaced the injured axar Patel in the 15-man squad. Chawla said, "We all knew that once Axar Patel got injured and was not fit for the World Cup, Ravichandran Ashwin was the straight choice because of his experience and the way he has bowled in the past. It is not a surprise that he is like a replacement, as he can bat and is a very decent batsman."
He further added that "Ashwin is a street smart cricketer; he is a very great player no matter if he is bowling in white ball or red ball cricket; he is always thinking about the game; he is always connected to the game, so although he has not played a lot of cricket in the ODI over the last 2 years, he is a really good bowler and
will do for the team. Nobody thought Ashwin would play, but he is walking into the playing 11 straight away against Australia at Chennai, which favours spin; he knows how Chennai's conditions are and has played enough cricket there to exploit the conditions.