India vs Australia: Ashwin Included in 13-man Squad After Being “Ruled Out” with Injury

Cricketnext Staff |AFP | Updated: January 2, 2019, 8:31 AM IST

Sydney:After initial reports that he had been ruled out of the final Test against Australia at Sydney after having failed to recover from a side strain, the Indian team management has put out a revised advisory saying that Ravichandran Ashwin has been included in the 13-man squad for the game.

The advisory states further that a final decision on Ashwin's availability will be taken on Thursday morning.

Ashwin, who suffered a side strain on the fourth day of the opening Adelaide Test, has missed the last two Tests in Perth and Melbourne and in his pre-match comments, captain Virat Kohli suggested that he hadn’t recovered from the injury that had kept him out.

"It's unfortunate that he's had two niggles that are quite similar in the last two away tours," said skipper Virat Kohli.

"He's very important for sure. In Test cricket he's a vital part of this team and we wanted him to be 100 per cent fit for a longer period to that he can come back to us in the Test format.

"He is very disappointed that he's not able to recover in time."

Left-arm finger-spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who claimed five wickets in India’s victory at Melbourne that gave them a 2-1 lead in the series, is expected to stay in playing XI for Sydney.

If Ashwin isn’t available and India require a second spinner, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav may come into the equation as India aim to clinch their first-ever series triumph Down Under.

India will need to make at least one change to the team that won in Melbourne with middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma, who hit a gritty 63 in the first innings, jetting back to Mumbai after his wife gave birth to a daughter.

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