India’s ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was discarded from India’s T20 set-up four years before, has now forced his return to the shortest format of the game. Yes, Ravi Ashwin has been included in India’s 15-member squad for the much-awaited T20 World Cup.
On Wednesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India finally announced the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, which will kickstart from October 17 in the UAE and Oman.
The BCCI had made some surprising moves while picking their squad for the T20 WC 2021. The main group includes six specialist batters, three all-rounders, three specialist spinners, and three specialist fast bowlers. The trio of Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, and Shreyas Iyer have been picked as reserves by the selection panel led by former India fast bowler Chetan Sharma.
However, one of the most surprising names was India’s ace spinner Ravi Ashwin. Ashwin hasn’t played in a T20 international match since 2017. Team India chief selector Chetan Sharma revealed that Ashwin’s IPL performances are the reason behind his selection. He said:
“Ravichandran Ashwin has been playing in the IPL regularly. He has performed well there. When you go into the World Cup, you need an off-spinner, everyone has an idea that the wickets in the UAE will get slower as IPL will also be played there. Spinners will get assistance so having an off-spinner holds the key. Washington Sundar is injured and Ashwin is an asset for the team. He has performed well in the IPL so that is why he has found a place for himself in the squad,” Chetan Sharma said on September 8.
Delighted with the news of his inclusion in the squad for the T20 World Cup, Ravi Ashwin took to his twitter and shared a heartfelt post. In his Tweet, Ashwin shared a beautiful quote that he wrote in 2017 and expressed how the quotes we read and admire have power in them. He wrote:
“2017: I wrote this quote down a million times in my diary before putting this up on the wall! Quotes that we read and admire have more power when we internalise them and apply in life.
Happiness and gratitude are the only 2 words that define me now.? #t20worldcup2021″
Here, check out the Tweet:
2017: I wrote this quote down a million times in my diary before putting this up on the wall! Quotes that we read and admire have more power when we internalise them and apply in life.
Happiness and gratitude are the only 2 words that define me now.? #t20worldcup2021 pic.twitter.com/O0L3y6OBLl
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) September 8, 2021
Here is the full India squad:
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami.