Axar Patel shares heartbroken message following World Cup snub, deletes is minutes later

Ravi Ashwin replaced injured Axar Patel in the Indian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 just a few days away, all teams have reached India for their final preparation. The warmup schedule starts on September 29, with every participant playing two games each before the World Cup starts. The tournament's opener will see a rematch from the final of the 2019 edition between England and New Zealand, which will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

All ten teams announced their squads for the mega event, and the final deadline to make any changes was September 28. India and Australia were the two teams that made forced changes in the World Cup squad. The one and most talked about change in the Indian team was Ravi Ashwin's inclusion in place of injured Axar Patel.

Axar Patel posts cryptic post after being replaced by Ravi Ashwin for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

The spin all-rounder Axar Patel suffered injuries during the group match against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023. He has been out of action since then. Though there were some reports that he was likely to be fit for the warmup games and then for the start of the World Cup. But he couldn't make it in time, and the Indian management picked Ashwin in his place.

After getting replaced, the all-rounder showed his disappointment and posted a cryptic story on his Instagram handle. Though he later deleted it, it was noticed by the fans and became the story. In one of his deleted Instagram story, Axar Patel wrote "Should've taken Science instead of Commerce and hired a better PR 💔."

Team India will play warmup matches on September 30 and October 2 against England and Netherlands, respectively. India recently finished the three-match ODI series against Australia, winning it 2-1.

Ashwin played the first two ODIs and took four wickets. His addition will offer the Indian team the option of an off-spinner, which was lacking earlier. The Indian team will be opening their campaign on October 8 in the Cricket World Cup 2023 with a match against Australia in Chennai at the Chepauk Stadium. India won the World Cup the last time they hosted it in 2011 and will look to repeat that success.