Ajit Agarkar, the head selector for the BCCI, did not identify any reserve players when he unveiled India’s preliminary selection for the World Cup at the beginning of September until Axar Patel suffered a quadriceps muscle tear during the Asia Cup.
Ashwin, who had not played in an ODI 20 months marked his return on last week’s match against Australia and was later picked as a replacement by India.
Even Ashwin was taken aback by the recent change of events, which he acknowledged prior to the start of India’s World Cup warm-up match against defending champion England.
When asked about his late World Cup selection he laughed and said, “I would be saying you are joking, but life is full of surprises and I honestly wasn’t thinking I would be here. I am present today thanks to circumstances and the trust that the team management has demonstrated. But over the past few years, enjoying the game has been my main goal, and I’ll be doing that in this competition.”
”I believe that being in a positive frame of mind and having fun with the game will serve me well. I’ve said it again, but this might be my final World Cup for India,” he said.
