Axar Patel was forced to withdraw from the final game after injuring his left quadriceps during India's final Super Four match against Bangladesh on Friday
India defeated Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final on Sunday with a thumping 10-wicket win in Colombo. Thanks to Mohammed Siraj's 6-wicket haul, which included a four-wicket over, India dismantled Sri Lanka for a paltry 50 in 15.2 overs. (More Cricket News)
However, India have been hit injuries ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023 with Axar Patel being the latest entrant in the injury list. Shreyas Iyer, too missed a large chunk of Asia Cup 2023 however the right-handed batter is nearing full fitness as skipper Rohit Sharma rated him as '99 percent' match-ready.
Iyer featured in just one game of the Asia Cup 2023, against Pakistan and then had to sit out of the tournament due to back spasms.
Even though Iyer was injured for most part of Asia Cup 2023, had did accomplish the goals set out by the team management and has demonstrated his match fitness for the World Cup, which is now less than three weeks away.
"Shreyas was not available for this game [final] because there were certain parameters that were kept for him to tick off. Today, he completed most of it. I would say 99% he should be okay as of now, but he looks good. He batted, he fielded for long hours before we came in today So, he's looking good at this point in time. I don't think it's a worry for us," Rohit said in a post-match press conference.
Rohit also provided update on Axar Patel's fitness who had to withdraw on the eve of the final. Washington Sundar was roped in as his replacement ahead of the final.
"Axar - I'm not sure, he had a small tear. It looks like maybe [unavailable] a week or ten days. We just have to wait and see how the injury progresses. Because every individual is different; some guys recover quickly. I hope that's the case with Axar, so we'll wait and see what happens with him. Obviously, am not too sure if he'll be available to play the first two games at home against Australia. We'll wait and see," Rohit said.
Rohit was also asked about Washington Sundar's role and where does he stand in the current scheme of things.
"With the spinning allrounder, everyone's in line, [R] Ashwin as well. I've been talking to him on the phone. He's very much in line, so is Washy [Washington]. We want those guys who can do the job with ball and bat as well. Washy, honestly that injury happened to Axar very late in the night, and then we had to call a few guys to see where they were at," Rohit said.
"Washy was available, so we got him in to play the role and perform the job for us. Luckily, he was with the Asian Games squad in Bangalore. He was training, he was bowling, so he was cricket fit, so we had to get him," the India captain said.
"But yeah, I've been very clear with certain guys who can come up and play certain roles. I've been talking to everyone; I don't want to take names. Everyone is aware of what is happening, no one is in the dark as to what is happening. Everyone is kept in the loop," he added.
India will now look to prepare for the ODI World Cup as they take on Australia in a three-match ODI series with the first match being played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.