Former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel believes that all-rounder Axar Patel
Patel believes that the selection of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was perhaps unnecessary given that the Men in Blue also had Deepak Hooda as an alternative to bowling off-spin. He went on to say that Axar Patel could have been able to assist in covering for Ravindra Jadeja, who has been dealing with some fitness concerns as of late.
Notes –
Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.AdvertisementThree players – Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys.
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 8, 2022
What did Parthiv Patel say?
The following is what Parthiv Patel had to say about India’s all-round alternatives in the spin department when he was speaking in a video that was uploaded to his channel on YouTube:
“Another omission that came as a complete shock to me was that of Axar Patel. He has provided what the squad needed at whatever time they requested it and has done all that was expected of him.”
The former cricketer continued by saying: “I believe they experimented with Ashwin, and they have the option of using Hooda if they need an off-spin bowler in Australia. Therefore, Axar ought to have been chosen as Jadeja’s backup in the first place.”
For the first time in history, all 🔟 wickets of a single T20I innings belonged to the spinners, as Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav helped #TeamIndia to a 8️⃣8️⃣ run win in the final T20I against West Indies. 🤩💥#PlayBold #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/Pw8Fb2yFBz
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) August 10, 2022
When Parthiv Patel saw that the Men in Blue had selected as many as four spinners and just three fast bowlers for their 15-man roster, he too was left with some questions. Regarding this, he continued:
“Given the nature of the pitch in the UAE, it is rather unexpected that India has chosen to field four spinners in its starting lineup. They have decided to go with only three pacers, which, in my opinion, is one too few. They should have gone with three spinners and four-seamers instead since when the Indian Premier League was played here, the pacers had a little bit of assistance from the pitch.”
On August 28, 2022, India will get their campaign for the Asia Cup underway by playing Pakistan.
