3 Players who underperformed in IPL 2022 but got a chance in India's T20I squad for South Africa series

2. Axar Patel

Another player who didn’t fare as expected in IPL 2022 was Axar Patel, who managed to keep his place in the T20 squad against South Africa. Axar, who has picked just six wickets in 13 innings this season, would be absolutely pinching himself to make him believe that he is still in the squad. Axar has the worst bowling average (53.50) and bowling strike rate (43) among all the Delhi Capitals bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 10 overs.

In fact, Axar’s season was so poor that even a part-time bowler, Lalit Yadav, had a better bowling strike rate as compared to Patel. Patel, on the other hand, has been backed based on his record in the T20 format in the blue jersey. The all-rounder has taken 14.61% of the wickets taken by the Indian team in the 13 international matches played so far, picking up a total of 13 wickets at a strike rate of 24.46 with the best figures of 3/9 against New Zealand.

In the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar is India’s only left-arm spinner in the squad who can contribute with the bat. The selectors have ignored Krunal Pandya, who had a far better IPL in comparison to Axar Patel. India’s debate on a spin-bowling all-rounder widens after the inclusion of Axar Patel in the squad, as the bench strength of India will give the selectors a good headache of having plenty of options for one position.