Ashwin, Raina set for World Cup debut against WI

Super kings' R Ashwin and Suresh Raina set to make world cup debut in crucial tie against West Indies

Ashwin, Raina set for World Cup debut against WI

Super Kings' R Ashwin and Suresh Raina set to make World Cup debut in crucial tie against West Indies

Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina, who play for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, could make their World Cup debut in India's final group game against the West Indies here tomorrow.

MiD DAY has learnt that India's bowling attack against Darren Sammy's side would feature Zaheer Khan, Munaf, Harbhajan Singh and Ashwin while Raina was expected to replace either Yusuf Pathan or Virat Kohli in the middle-order.

India need to beat the West Indies to secure their passage to the knockout stage; loss would leave their fate hanging on net run rate. Yesterday, after the customary game of football and fielding drills, the players shifted to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) Academy for the nets session.
Suresh Raina

Chawla's absence at the nets and Ashwin bowling for close to 45 minutes was a fair indication of what was in store for tomorrow. Munaf Patel, too, bowled for a little over an hour. Ashish Nehra bowled from a longer run-up, but his bowling continued to lack bite.u00a0 Zaheer played football, but didn't bowl. Virender Sehwag, who skipped training on Thursday owing to a swollen knee, resumed practice.

He batted for nearly half an hour and didn't appear in any discomfort. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was also absent during Thursday's practice due to fever, was present at the ground but didn't practice.

R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla (right) head in different directions during a
net session in Chennai on Thursday. Pic/AFP

Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh did not bat as well.u00a0 It was a pleasant sight to see Pathan strike some big hits. The Baroda batsman is looking to get out of a mini slump, having scored only 63 runs from five innings in the tournament. Meanwhile, the playing surface at Chepauk continued to be covered by white canopies, to protect it from the hot Chennai sun.