IND SA 1st T20 – Ashwin for Axar Patel in Playing XI? Axar Patel could lose his spot in playing XI against South Africa in the 1st T20. The first contest of the three-match series between Proteas and Men in Blue will be played in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Wednesday. Before the first T20 against visitors from Africa, there is a slight chance that premium India all-rounder Axar Patel who bagged the Man of the series award against Australia will be replaced by veteran Ravichandran Ashwin at the Greenfield International Stadium. Follow InsideSport.IN for LIVE updates about IND vs SA 1st T20
Check why Axar Patel can be replaced by Ravichandran Ashwin in the 1st T20 match vs South Africa.
IND SA 1st T20: Despite Man of the Series Award vs Australia, Axar Patel can lose his place in Playing XI today to Ravichandran Ashwin, CHECK WHY? Follow IND vs SA LIVE
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The ace all-rounder Axar Patel was Man of the Series against Australia. In the recently concluded three-match T20 series vs Australia, Axar enjoyed mindblowing exploits. He bagged eight wickets at an average of 7.87, and an economy rate of 6.30.
But even after a such rich performance against the Aussies, there is a chance that Axar will not feature against SA in 1st T20. Even though it seems absurd, it is a real possibility when you consider the possible pairings.
Only Matthew Wade was a left-handed batter among Australia’s top seven batters; Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, and David Miller are anticipated to be three of the left-handed batters for South Africa. This can be the reason for Axar not featuring in the match against SA.
Left-arm spinners have an economy rate of 8.12 against left-handed hitters, compared to 6.86 against right-handed batters in all T20 matches this year for which ball-by-ball statistics is available as per ESPNCricinfo. Against left-handed batters, offspinners have averaged 6.60 and against right-handed batters, the average is 7.28.
With this stat, one thing is clear that the left-arm all-rounder Axar Patel will face problems in bowling those middle overs to SA batters.
An absolute privilege. I would like to thank everyone for the support and messages. The journey continues. 🇮🇳🏆 pic.twitter.com/17FSFKExQf
— Akshar Patel (@akshar2026) September 26, 2022
IND SA 1st T20: Axar Patel vs Ravichandran Ashwin
India won’t likely have a sixth bowler vs SA because Deepak Hooda is injured and Hardik Pandya is on rest. So the five primary bowlers will have to bowl four overs apiece, regardless of how favourable the match-ups are. This means that Axar will have to go through his quota of four overs, even if SA batters take him to the cleaners.
In contrast, R Ashwin has the best economy rate of any Indian bowler who has bowled at least 50 balls to left-handed hitters since the beginning of the T20 World Cup last year, when he returned to the T20I squad after a four-year sabbatical. His economy is 6.05 against left-handed batters. His 13.25 average against left-handed hitters during this time span is second best only to Arshdeep Singh’s 12.00 mark.
IND SA 1st T20: Despite Man of the Series Award vs Australia, Axar Patel can lose his place in Playing XI today to Ravichandran Ashwin, CHECK WHY? Follow IND vs SA LIVE
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