Suryakumar Yadav had a brilliant run of form for the Indian cricket team during the recently concluded ODI series against Australia. It came as a relief for the explosive batter whose selection for the Cricket World Cup 2023 was met with some doubt from both experts and fans. However, he was back at his explosive best as he scored two half-centuries to guide his team to a series win. While his form has improved in the recent past, legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar was not convinced with his showing in the ODI format and he had a blunt verdict over his inclusion in the World Cup playing XI.

“Suryakumar hasn’t done anything big yet in ODI cricket. He only bats in those final 15-20 overs where he utilises his T20 abilities which undoubtedly is important as well. But Hardik, Ishan and Rahul can all do that same job as well. So Iyer is confirmed for No. 4. Suryakumar will have to wait and if he does get a chance at No. 4 he has to score a big hundred and show that he can also score a ton as well.”

India have predictably named veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as a replacement for injured spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel in their 15-member squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

Axar had sustained a quadriceps tear and is not expected to recover anytime soon, forcing the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to name the 37-year-old Ashwin, who took four wickets in the two ODIs during the recently concluded series against Australia, in the squad.

“Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India’s Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result,” ICC stated in a media release.

“Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named his replacement, who was impressive on his return to ODI cricket in the recently concluded series against Australia where he picked up four wickets in two games,” the release further stated.

India’s Cricket World Cup squad: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.