Akshar Patel's injury offered a golden opportunity to R Ashwin to play in his possible final World Cup, as the veteran off-spinner emerged as the natural replacement, given his wealth of experience and past bowling prowess in the home conditions for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

Reacting to Ashwin’s inclusion in Team India’s squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 as a replacement for injured Akshar, Piyush Chawla said that it wasn’t a surprise move, as everybody was expecting this would happen if Patel fails to recover.

Chawla said that Ashwin is not just a skilled bowler but also a handy batter, which adds depth to the Indian team. He also predicted that Ashwin will play India’s opening match at the upcoming World Cup 2023 against Australia on October 8, given his experience playing in Chennai.

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Piyush Chawla was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo: “We all knew that once Axar Patel got injured and was not fit enough for the World Cup, Ravi Ashwin was the straight choice because of his experience and the way he has bowled in the past. It is no surprise. It is a like-to-like replacement as he can bat, and is a very decent batter.”

He continued: “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 ODIs over the last two years, he is a really good bowler and will do good for the team.”

Chawla signed off by saying, “Nobody thought Ashwin would play. But he is walking into the playing eleven straight away against Australia at Chennai which favours spin. He knows how Chennai's conditions are and has played enough cricket there to exploit these conditions.”

(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)