Indian cricket team would be booming with confidence after thrashing Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final. The spinner Axar Patel has become an inseparable part of the side over the last year or so. We witnessed how Axar Patel played a crucial knock against Sri Lanka and batted with tail-enders.
Once again the onus will be on the star batter Virat Kohli to perform in key matches, but his stats in ICC knock-out matches aren’t that encouraging. Perhaps, Virat should play his natural game rather than going into the shell as his wicket is like a jackpot to the opposition team.
Axar Patel is an extremely fit guy- Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan was having an interaction with Star Sports. Irfan Pathan pointed out that Axar Patel is not an aged player and was quite hopeful that he would recover from the injury that he sustained during the Asia Cup 2023 and was ruled out of the final fixture.
“Axar Patel got hit in two or three places, so we don’t know how serious it is. However, he is an extremely fit guy, which means he might recover quicker and it’s not that he is a very aged player, It is extremely necessary for the Indian team to get him fit and come back. I feel India will need his batting at No. 8 because he has shown form on Sri Lankan pitches where it is slightly difficult to bat,” said Irfan Pathan.
“If you are looking for batting depth, you have the option of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar but I feel Axar Patel is the best among them at No. 8. If you talk about the range, I feel he has more options, even more than (Ravindra) Jadeja,” he added.
India’s lethal spin attack
Head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma will have a lot of quality spinners. According to sources with knowledge, it is believed that Kuldeep Yadav would be the frontline spinner. Ravindra Jadeja can also provide stability to the side if there is a dramatic collapse which makes him an asset.
With the inclusion of the veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the upcoming Australia ODI series which is set to commence from 22nd September; if Ashwin produces a couple of good spells then who knows he may replace one of Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.