The Indian cricket staff pulled a rabbit out of the hat because the selectors handed veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin a return to the ODI staff simply weeks earlier than the World Cup. Ashwin can be in motion for the staff within the 3-match ODI collection in opposition to Australia and it’s strongly believed that he might substitute the injured Axar Patel within the squad for the next World Cup too. However, not many are pleased with this ‘unplanned’ transfer by the Board of Control for Cricket in India as Ashwin hasn’t featured in a 50-over contest for India since January 2022.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan slammed the staff administration’s choice, suggesting though there is not a greater spinner on the earth than Ashwin, the off-spinner ought to’ve been given extra video games within the format forward of the World Cup if he was within the choice fray.

“You can’t get a better spinner than Ashwin in the entire world. But in a tournament as big as the World Cup, where there is immense pressure, you can’t expect a senior player to walk in and play for the team in a format which he hasn’t played for a long time and prove his worth. So you are leaving it entirely to fate,” Pathan informed Star Sports.

“There is no planning here. Had there been a plan for Ashwin, they should have given him some game time before the World Cup. Yes, he will be playing against Australia, but is that enough? You have to bowl for 10 overs, and adjust in the team as well and give India that result. It isn’t that easy. Planning should have been better,” he added.

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who was additionally part of the dialogue alongside Irfan Pathan, feels that the character of Axar’s damage will not let him return quickly.

“If Axar hadn’t been injured then we wouldn’t have seen this move and Ashwin would have never been in the scene. Now Axar has suffered a strain injury and that takes time to recover from. No matter what they say, he will be back in a week’s time, but such injuries take at least 2-3 weeks to recover from. That is why they went for the experience in Ashwin. And remember, there is no comparison between Ashwin and Sundar. He has 900 wickets (712) across formats!” he asserted.