IND vs WI LIVE: Axar Patel has continued making his claim for a permanent spot in the side with the all-rounder chipping in with some impressive performances in Indian colours against West Indies. Often seen as an understudy to Ravindra Jadeja, the 28-year-old has stepped out of the shadows over the past couple of years, fine-tuning his skills with both bat and ball. Such have been Axar’s contributions that the all-rounder is now one of the all-round spin options for India across all formats of the game. Follow India vs West Indies live updates on Insidesport.IN
IND vs WI LIVE: Axar Patel eyes permanent spot after Port of Spain heroics, ex-coach says ‘It doesn’t make a difference if Jadeja is around or not’
Axar Patel gave the cricketing fraternity a reminder of his immense talent, smashing a whirlwind 64 not out to guide India to victory on Sunday. While Patel has been known as a bowling all-rounder, the 28-year-old has in the past couple of years shown his batting prowess. Before the Port of Spain heroics, Axar scored contrasting knocks of 52 and 41 against New Zealand in Tests, while scoring a stunning 17-ball 38 to seal a difficult chase for Delhi Capitals against Jasprit Bumrah and Co earlier this year.
Such has been the upturn in his returns that Patel has pipped the likes of Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar in the pecking order. With the 2023 ODI World Cup just over 15 months away, Axar is making quite the case, especially with the tournament set to be played in India.
The call up to the West Indies series was Patel’s first since 2017 and he would not have featured if not for an untimely injury for Ravindra Jadeja. Axar has featured for India generally in the maverick’s absence, but the 28-year-old would now be keen to nail his place down for good, irrespective of Jadeja’s availability.
IND vs WI LIVE: Axar Patel eyes permanent spot after Port of Spain heroics, ex-coach says ‘It doesn’t make a difference if Jadeja is around or not’
Being an understudy to Jadeja has never bothered the all-rounder, with his former coach and close confidant Vijay Patel revealing that Axar has hardly felt any pressure in international cricket. Despite being out of the side for a long time, Vijay said that Axar had the belief and self-confidence to trust his process and make a return in the future.
Speaking to TOI, he said, “Sometime back, there was a phase when Jadeja was doing so well that Axar almost seemed forgotten. However, he seemed completely relaxed about it. ‘Don’t worry sir. Aage dekh lenge (we’ll see in the future)’ he told me. He wasn’t feeling any pressure,” says Patel. “It doesn’t make a difference to him if Jadeja is around or not. He’s only focused on his own performance. As I said earlier, he’s just relaxed and enjoying his game. It’s this attitude which helps him keep performing well.”
Axar Patel’s match winning innings 64* off just 35 balls.#AxarPatel #WIvsINDpic.twitter.com/6sBlC0eE7G
— CRICKET VIDEOS🏏 (@Abdullah__Neaz) July 25, 2022
Another Gujarat coach Mukund Parmar, Axar has always been serious about his batting and now needs to add consistency to his game. Speaking to The Telegraph, Parmar said, “He has certainly grown in terms of maturityI’ve seen him making important contributions with the bat since his U-19 days. But now that he has proved what he’s capable of, he needs to be more consistent and back it up with more such knocks.”
IND vs WI LIVE: Axar Patel eyes permanent spot after Port of Spain heroics, ex-coach says ‘It doesn’t make a difference if Jadeja is around or not’
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