In India's World Cup squad, finalised on 28 September, there was a relatively surprise inclusion in the final 15. R Ashwin, recalled to the white-ball setup, had been included in place of all-rounder Axar Patel, who had been ruled out through injury.
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Ashwin would have been looking forward to taking the field for India in their World Cup warm-up fixture on Saturday, 30 September against England in Guwahati.
The match was eventually abandoned without a ball bowled, due to incessant rain. However, there was still discussion online about Ashwin's inclusion in the squads, and what he adds to India's line-up.
'Liability fielder, unfit cricketer' - Sivaramakrishnan attacks Ashwin
Former India spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan took to X (formerly Twitter) before the game was scheduled to start, replying to a post about the commentators slated to work during the World Cup and bemoaning the lack of a spinner among the panel.
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He went on to claim that 'pitches in India are doctored for Ashwin in Test matches', before replying to another user in a string of posts bashing the off-spinner.
Sivaramakrishnan said that 'any fool will get wickets on tampered pitches in India' and then said Ashwin was only playing for India as 'there is nobody else'. He did not stop there, calling the Tamil Nadu spinner a 'liability fielder', 'most unfit cricketer' and claiming that he 'gives excuses for everything'.
Any fool will get wickets on tampered pitches in India
— Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (@LaxmanSivarama1) September 30, 2023
This picture has gone viral on SM. Enlarge the image and you notice his non bowling arm and upper body has opened up towards the offside. If you look at his lower body is closed. This leads to lack of synchronisation. Ash quickly needs to correct this to be more effective pic.twitter.com/vW1aspJrOq
— Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (@LaxmanSivarama1) September 29, 2023
In another post on X, Sivaramakrishnan also congratulated the Tamil Nadu spinner for getting selected for the World Cup squad.
Congratulations to R.Ashwin for making himself a place in the World Cup squad with sheer impressive qualities that he possesses and has displayed in the recent past. His job is to take wickets and not look to contain, if he can average a couple of wickets each game he would have…
— Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (@LaxmanSivarama1) September 29, 2023
Who will win the 2023 World Cup?
India, England and Australia are among the top five favourites for the 2023 World Cup title. The odds from Dafabet are as follows.
Team | Odds (Dafabet) |
---|---|
India | 3.25 |
England | 4.50 |
Australia | 5.00 |
Pakistan | 8.00 |
New Zealand | 9.00 |
Think you know who will win the 2023 Cricket World Cup? Place your bets here with Dafabet!