Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has backed the selectors and the Indian team management for picking Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of Washington Sundar for the ICC World Cup 2023.

Both Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar were in contention to make it to the World Cup squad after Axar Patel sustained a thigh injury during the Asia Cup last month. Sundar was called up by the team for the Asia Cup final and was also a part of the playing eleven for the title decider.

Ravichandran Ashwin then earned a recall from the ODI after more than a year for the three-match series against Australia. Sundar was also a part of the squad. The team management, however, made it clear that they preferred Ravichandran Ashwin over Sundar for the World Cup by including the former in the playing eleven for the first two games while Sundar warmed the bench.

Ravi Shastri on Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion:

Ravichandran Ashwin’s inclusion in the World Cup squad ahead of Sundar has been dividing opinions. Many believe that Sundar deserved the spot more than Ashwin. Since 2018, Ashwin had played only two ODIs before being called up for the Australia series.

However, Ravi Shastri believes that the team management and the selectors made the right call by picking Ashwin over Sundar. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the former India allrounder highlighted that India needed an experienced player and Ashwin was the right choice. He also said that the off-spinner performs well when he keeps things simple.

“He’s at his best when he keeps it simple which is good, quality off-spin and the subtle variations which he has in plenty,” said Ravi Shastri.

“Coming to selection, it is a wise move because he has got the experience. If this was a T20 World Cup, I would’ve preferred Washington Sundar, no question about it. This is a longer game. You can call 50-over cricket, the Test cricket of white-ball cricket. It is that long now,” he added.

India squad for ICC World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

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