Axar Patel embraces new function as batting enforcer | Cricket Information

AHMEDABAD: Within the last of the T20 World Cup in West Indies in June final 12 months, many questioned the knowledge of selling left-handed allrounder Axar Patel to the No. 5 slot forward of the hard-hitting Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. Axar, because it turned out, delivered with a vital 31-ball 47, together with a elegant straight six off pacer Kagiso Rabada.
Eight months down the road, with one other ICC occasion on the horizon, India appear to be favouring the identical template, enjoying Axar at No. 5 in a line-up not comprising Rishabh Pant. Pant, actually, continues to sit down out, with KL Rahul doing wicket preserving duties.
On this sequence, with openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill complementing one another properly, veteran Virat Kohli at No. 3 and the in-form Shreyas Iyer at No. 4, the group has the pliability to play Axar as a floater.
With 93 runs in his first two matches, that too as the only left-handed possibility within the center order, Axar has justified the transfer.
Former Gujarat Ranji coach Hitesh Majmudar, underneath whom the 31-year-old Axar made his debut in home circuit, informed TOI, “Axar’s batting credentials usually are not talked about sufficient. He performed a significant function in Gujarat profitable the Vijay Hazare trophy in 2015-16 and the Syed Mushtaq Ali in 2014-15. He has the power to hit the ball to all components of the bottom, which makes his batting a significant facet of his recreation. He confirmed that together with his innings in Barbados, which allowed Virat to play his recreation and Dube to speed up as traditional.
“Each time Axar has been given the chance to bat up the order, he has delivered. He performs in response to the scenario. He’s refining his recreation to go well with the wants of the group. He works arduous on his batting and is among the many finest allrounders India presently have. Whereas Ravindra Jadeja is extra of a bowling allrounder, Axar is a correct batting allrounder,” mentioned Majmudar, who performed home cricket for Gujarat.
Aside from his well-known model of left-arm spin – totally different to Jadeja’s fashion – Axar is generally called a protected fielder too, including to his utility within the group.