Ravichandran Ashwin's inclusion in India's ODI World Cup 2023 squad is nothing less than dramatic as he replaced injured Axar Patel in India's squad on the final day of squad confirmation. In India's opening match against Australia, Ashwin featured in India's playing 11 and returned with the figures of 1/34 in his 10 overs spell in Chennai on Sunday.

India started their campaign in style with a six-wicket win over Australia as KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 97 while Virat Kohli played a knock of 85 runs chasing 200.

Recalling the call from skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid before being named in the squad, the experienced spinner said the duo called him that they will come back to him.

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"It was more like a May day call, I was chilling at home, played a couple of club games but Rohit and Rahul [Dravid] had told me that if there is a situation we will come back to you, I just told them jokingly that hope you never come back to me [smiles]," Ashwin said in the post-match presentation.

For India, Ravindra Jadeja picked three wickets while Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah snatched two scalps each.

Ashwin was surprised with the wicket at his home venue which behaved in contrast to its nature. The veteran bowlers lauded his teammate Jadeja for his exception 3/28 spell.

"I played a lot of cricket in Chennai. It is quite unlike Chennai pitch, with lots of cracks. You saw how Hazlewood and the Aussies bowled in the 2nd innings. We were actually a little concerned at how it would pan out. The crowd always gets behind us here. Thankfully we lost the toss and Jadeja was on a roll after he got the ball," Ashwin said.

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"It's more than the pace, it's difficult for the bowlers to bowl at a particular speed. It's about getting the sidespin and overspin right, getting my body into position - all of these things. It's about getting that right for me. For me it usually takes about 6-8 balls to get that right," he added on adjustments made on his bowling.

When asked about how his performance will be analysed by everyone, Ashwin said, "I need to pick my Whatsapp messages and go on Twitter to find out. But I need to stay out of social media [smiles]."

"The day I was picked, everyone near my area said you will win us the World Cup. I was like dude... [smiles]. As long as I keep performing for India, I will be happy. I have played for 13 years and want to continue to deliver," he added.