New Delhi, India

Axar Patel's injury opened the doors for R Ashwin's comeback in the ODI setup recently. After Axar suffered an injury during Asia Cup 2023, Ashwin was recalled in the ODI setup -- for the first time since early 2022 -- during the home ODIs versus Australia in the run-up to the 50-over World Cup, which starts on Thursday (October 5) in Ahmedabad. 

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After the three ODIs, which India won 2-1, Ashwin replaced Axar in the CWC '23 final 15 as the latter is still recovering after the quadriceps strain. Now, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has backed the decision and feels Ashwin is the right choice to replace Axar.

Talking to India Today, Ganguly said, "He is an outstanding spinner. He is probably the best off-spinner in the world. And also, he is the best spinner in India. I always think that in this format specialist is very important in this format. It’s a very good decision. Maybe it is a coincidence as Axar Patel was out for injury. But I think it's a very good decision."

Also read: Winning CWC '23 in India would bigger achievement for England than 2019 title, says ex-captain Morgan

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Ashwin was impressive in the opening two ODIs versus Australia, claiming four wickets. He will look to start the upcoming ODI World Cup with a bang as India take on the Aussies in both sides' respective openers on October 8 (Sunday) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Ashwin is a veteran of 115 ODIs and has accounted for 155 wickets. He was part of India's victorious run in the 2011 ODI World Cup, co-hosted by India. Thus, his experience will come in handy for Rohit Sharma & Co. as they look to replicate the 2011 success and also end India's ten-year-long ICC title drought.

Here is India's final squad for World Cup 2023 -

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Rohit Sharma (captain), 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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