R Ashwin to replace injured Ravindra Jadeja for Irani Trophy 2018

The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named R Ashwin as the replacement for injured Ravindra Jadeja in the Rest of India squad for the Paytm Z R Irani Cup. Jadeja suffered a side strain and has been advised rest. Ashwin himself had missed the recently concluded Paytm Prof D B Deodhar Trophy as he was advised a week’s rest where he was supposed to captain India A. He has now recovered and is declared fit to play, as announced by BCCI.

A half-fit played powered Saurashtra to the finals with a half-century and a brilliant run out as they beat Andhra by 59 runs to enter the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In fact, Jadeja did not play in the quarter-final due to a side-strain and was not allowed to bowl for the next three weeks but that did not stop him from chipping in with a 51-ball-56 which helped Saurashtra get out of the rut to post a decent 255 in 49.1 overs.

Ashwin, very much an important figure for the Indians

R Ashwin was last seen playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he played five matches and picked 9 wickets. He featured in two Tests in South Africa where he picked up 7 wickets. Jadeja, however, last played for India in the Sri Lanka Test series. While Jadeja will continue playing for Chennai Super Kings who have returned after a two-year-suspension, Ashwin will be seen donning the role of the captain for his new franchise Kings XI Punjab. They will both be seen in action for their respective sides April 7 onwards.

Karun Nair has been named the skipper of the Rest of India squad while they have also got promising players like Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal in their ranks. The Rest of India will face the Ranji Trophy champions in Nagpur from March 14-18.

Rest of India Squad: Karun Nair (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, R Samarth, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Anmolpreet Singh, Siddarth Kaul, Ankit Rajpoot, Navdeep Saini, Atit Sheth