Axar Patel needs to be brave like Kuldeep Yadav to get wickets: Wasim Jaffer

Ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022 mega auction, Delhi Capitals (DC) retained Anrich Nortje, but could not find a place for another pacer Kagiso Rabada on the list. In the ongoing season, the team has tasted success on only three out of seven occasions. Currently, they are facing the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 41 at Wankhede Stadium. Former Indian cricketers Wasim Jaffer and Nikhil Chopra shared their views on DC’s key spinner Axar Patel.

Chopra believes Rabada and Nortje picked up wickets in the powerplay overs until the last edition, which forced the middle-order to play Patel in a cautious manner. He reckoned that the current DC bowling lineup has not been able to take wickets with the new ball, and as a result, the batters have attacked Patel when they have settled down at the crease.

“In the last season, Rabada and Nortje picked wickets in the first few overs, so the batters looked to build partnerships in the middle overs, and were a little careful. This time, not enough wickets have been taken by the DC bowlers like Shardul and Mustafizur upfront, and the batters have now tried to score runs off Axar. It does make a difference when the new ball doesn’t get you wickets,” said Chopra on Sky247.net presents ‘Not Just Cricket’ Show on CricTracker.

Jaffer reckoned that Patel is not bowling in the right manner and needs to have an attacking mindset without thinking about his economy rate. He urged Patel to follow the footsteps of Kuldeep Yadav, who has been brave enough and has taken wickets in a consistent manner. He thinks Patel performed well in the last few editions, as the opposition was already struggling in the middle overs with Rabada and Nortje picking up the first three-four wickets.

” I think it’s all about mindset, as Axar is bowling in a defensive manner at the moment, and just bowls for getting the dot balls. But sometimes you have to be brave and need to take wickets. If you give away only 20 runs in four overs but don’t take a wicket, other bowlers can get hit as well. He should pick a couple of wickets like Kuldeep Yadav has done and it can help the team to restrict 10-15 runs shorter,” Jaffer added.