In a major setback to his World Cup hopes, Axar Patel has been ruled out of the third ODI against Australia, on September 27, days ahead of the start of the marquee tournament.

Axar had been named in the squad for the third match of the three-match ODI series against Australia subject to fitness. However, as per a Cricbuzz report, he has failed to recover in time from his injury and has subsequently been ruled out of the third ODI.

This is a major blow to Axar’s World Cup chances as every team needs to announce their final squad by September 28, a day after India’s third ODI against Australia.

If the management feels that Axar, who is recovering from a quadriceps strain suffered during the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh, will not be fit in time before the World Cup starts, doors may open for R Ashwin, who may play his third consecutive World Cup despite not being playing bilateral white-ball cricket regularly.

Ashwin, who made an ODI comeback after a year and a half, has been in good form in the series against Australia: he has taken four wickets from two games at an economy rate of 5.18.

The other option India have is Washington Sundar, who replaced Axar in the Asia Cup final but has sat out in the Australia series, which may suggest that he is below Ashwin in the pecking order.

Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur have been rested and will not be travelling to Rajkot, the venue for the third ODI, either. Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the second ODI due to personal reasons, will be back for the third ODI, where first-choice players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya will return.

India already have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The third match in Rajkot will be the final international game for both India and Australia before they meet each other again at the World Cup on October 8.

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