Exclusive: 'He is a match-winner for India,' Deepak Chahar on Ravichandran Ashwin on the First Sports show

Ravichandran Ashwin was a surprise last-minute inclusion in the India squad for the ongoing 2023 World Cup.

The all-rounder from Tamil Nadu was brought into the India squad for the ODIs against Australia in September in the aftermath of Axar Patel’s injury. He impressed across the two matches he played, taking four wickets from those games.

Ashwin was soon drafted into the World Cup squad, and on Sunday against Australia in Chennai, Ashwin registered figures of 1/34 that ended in a match-winning cause.

Deepak Chahar has closely observed Ashwin’s game and termed him as an all-round “match-winner”.

“He (Ashwin) is a brilliant performer and match-winner with bat and ball. He has won Test matches for India with the bat also. He is mentally strong and he loves to play cricket. We have seen him domestic cricket, playing local leagues in Chennai,” Chahar told on the First Sports show hosted by Rupha Ramani.

“This shows how much he loves the game and how much he loves to put on the ground. So, I think people like him always come back, because when you want to play cricket, then you can make a comeback. When you are shying away from cricket or hiding from cricket, then it’s obviously very difficult to come back,” Chahar added.

India defeated Australia by six wickets in their World Cup opener in Chennai on Sunday, following a 165-run stand between Virat Kohli (85) and KL Rahul (97*). The Men in Blue next take on Afghanistan on 11 October before facing arch-rivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad three days later.