IND vs AUS: Will Ravichandran Ashwin play in World Cup 2023 final? Who will make room for off-spinner?

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IND vs AUS: India and Australia have hustled their way through 45 league matches and two knockout games of the World Cup 2023, and are set to clash in the mega final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday November 19.

Eyes will be on hosts India who are in the final of the World Cup for the first time after 2011. They have a golden opportunity to end their 10-year-long wait for an ICC trophy in front of over one lakh fans who will be present at the world's largest stadium.

The Indian team led by Rohit Sharma, has not lost a single match in the tournament. They have won ten matches on the bounce but face the tough task of facing the five-times champions Australia who are themselves looking forward to carry forward their 8-match winning streak to clinch their sixth title.

The two side opened their World Cup 2023 campaign against each other. India registered a six-wicket win in the match which was played in Chennai. Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin featured in the match and picked one wicket for 34 runs in 10 overs.

The 37-year-old veteran cricketer did not feature in any of India's next nine matches. But will he be inducted in the India playing eleven in the summit clash?

IND vs AUS: Will Ashwin play in the World Cup final?

Spinners have got good help from the Ahmedabad surface in the last few matches. In the last match played at the venue between South Africa and Afghanistan, all the five wickets picked in the second innings belonged to the spinners. Afghanistan were restricted to 244 while batting first as left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj picked two wickets for just 25 runs in 10 overs.

Further, India spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja were also all over Pakistan in their league stage match at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Kuldeep picked two wickets for 35 runs in 10 overs, while Jadeja also gave away just 38 runs in 9.5 overs for his two wickets.

Therefore it's obvious that India would be tempted to play Ashwin under spin-friendly conditions. However, they are very likely to opt against it. The reason is simple. India would not want to tinker with their winning combination in the finale.

Shardul Thakur played in place of Ashwin after the match against Australia. But once all-rounder Hardik Pandya got injured, India made two changes to add depth to the batting and bowling departments. Suryakumar Yadav was brought in place of Hardik, and Shardul was dropped to make place for Mohammed Shami.

Shami has run riot and is currently the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup 2023. The 33-year-old pacer has picked 23 wickets in just six matches at an average of 9.13. He picked seven wickets in the all-important semi-final against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

IND vs AUS? Will India drop Siraj to included Ashwin in playing XI

Dropping Suryakumar Yadav is out of equation. His presence gives India top-order a big cushion. Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are undroppable.

Mohammed Siraj, India's best bowler in recent times, will have to be dropped for Ashwin, and that in itself is a highly unlikely scenario. Hence, the inclusion of Ashwin in India playing eleven for the World Cup 2023 final is a distant possibility.