Ravichandran Ashwin will play in his third 50-overs World Cup after being included in India’s 15-member squad as a replacement for the injured Axar Patel. This last-minute adjustment was made by India just hours before the deadline of September 28. Veteran spinner Ashwin was drafted into India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Australia, and picked up four wickets from two games, including 3/41 in Indore, making him a natural replacement for Axar, who is still recovering from a left quadriceps strain and is expected to be out for three weeks.

Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named Axar’s 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 ICC said in an official statement.

Team management thought they could trust on Ashwin’s expertise over Washington Sundar’s all-rounder ability. Washington will now travel to China to compete in the Asian Games. India’s World Cup campaign kicks off against Australia on October 8 in Chennai, where the pitch has been slow and aided spin.

And Ashwin, who has played several matches at that venue for India and Chennai Super Kings, may come in useful for captain Rohit Sharma. Ashwin, team India’s lone specialist off-spinner, has bagged 155 wickets from 115 One-Day Internationals. Ashwin played in the 2015 World Cup, where he took 13 wickets in eight matches to help India reach the semifinals, and he remained an important component of India’s white-ball outfit until the 2017 Champions Trophy.