Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been included in the World Cup squad just ahead of the tournament. Ashwin, who had been away from the ODI team for an extended period, has received a chance to represent India in the upcoming World Cup. He was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian team.
Ashwin made a significant statement before the practice match against England in Guwahati. On Saturday, September 30, he acknowledged that the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup could potentially be his last appearance in the prestigious tournament. The Indian spinner also mentioned that he hadn't contemplated being selected in the squad, making this opportunity a surprising one for him. Ashwin had also featured in the T20 World Cup last year, although India had lost to England in the semi-finals.
Enjoying the game has been my primary goal: Ashwin
Ashwin stated, "I hadn't thought about playing in the World Cup honestly. Enjoying the game has been my primary goal for the past four to five years, and I would like to continue doing that in this tournament. I even told the media personnel that they shouldn't bring me in front of the camera for some time, but this is one of those situations where they said Dinesh Karthik is interviewing you."
Rohit Sharma wins the toss
Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in the ICC Cricket World Cup practice match against England and chose to bat first.
Here are the line-ups for both teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Mohammed Shami.
England: David Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper/captain), Liam Livingstone, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Mark Wood.
