Fact check | India's ODI World Cup squad: Was Axar Patel's cryptic message after Team India snub fake?

Axar Patel with Ravichandran Ashwin (Pic: AFP)

India have predictably named veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as a replacement for injured spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel in their 15-member team for the upcoming ODI World Cup, as they announced their final squad on Thursday.

Axar had sustained a quadriceps tear and is not expected to recover anytime soon, forcing the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to name the 37-year-old Ashwin, who took four wickets in the two ODIs during the recently concluded series against Australia, in the squad.

"Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustaining a left quadriceps strain during India's Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result. Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named his 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 release further stated," ICC stated in a media release.

Patel, who was initially named in India's 15-man provisional World Cup squad, appeared to have shared a cryptic post hours after he was dropped from the squad. "Should have taken science instead of commerce and hired a better PR," read the post.

The viral post that later claimed it was fake. (Pic: X)

According to several reports, Patel deleted the post shortly afterwards, after having gathered a lot of detractors online. However, he later reposted a tweet that claimed the post was fake.

The writing was there on the wall when Axar failed to recover on time for the third ODI against Australia in Rajkot. Ashwin travelled with the Indian team to Guwahati where they will play the first warm-up game against England on Saturday, September 30.

Interestingly, when India had named both Ravindra Jadeja and Patel in their WC squad, there were talks about sameness in their bowling skill-sets and it was the batting ability that got Jadeja's understudy a nod.

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Axar's abilities as a bowler on good batting tracks has been limited but obviously when he couldn't get any purchase against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup game on a Khettarama track that was closest to rank-turner, there were apprehensions about the choice made by the management.

A part-timer like Charith Asalanka got four wickets on that very track would have made people wonder if Ashwin could be included in India's WC squad and it needed a divine intervention.

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No one would like to see a cricketer getting injured. But Axar's reported quadriceps tear possibly was 'His' way of urging the team management to do a course correction and they finally did it by recalling Ashwin even though it was Washington Sundar, who was called for the Asia Cup final.

The team knew that there was no substitute for experience. Hence the talk about Ashwin's utility never seemed to fade away and the fact that most of the top teams have quality left-handers in its top and middle-order.

(With agency inputs)