Axar spins it India's way in Mohali

WHEN Axar Patel was not named in India's squad for the three T20Is in South Africa despite being added to the ODI side, it raised a few eyebrows.

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At that point, Axar had played as many as 13 T20Is in 2023, while his replacement Ravindra Jadeja, the vice-captain, had featured in none.

In the 13 games, and the 11 ODIS he played last year, Axar had also been used as a designated floater/spin-hitter with the bat. In fact, in the five-match T20I series against Australia just after the ODI World Cup, he had taken six wickets while operating at 6.20 runs per over. It seemed like India were finally making Axar their first choice spin-bowling all-rounder in the shortest format. Then came Jadeja for the South Africa series with two wickets in as many matches. Axar, in the ODI leg, finished with one wicket.

While Jadeja was the firstchoice spin all-rounder until he got injured in the lead up to the 2022 T20 World Cup, since then Axar had moved up the ranks.