'Can't send him at No. 8' - Aakash Chopra on 'responsible' Axar Patel's batting position ahead of 3rd England T20I

India have taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against England. However, Aakash Chopra feels that Gautam Gambhir and Co. are not using vice-captain Axar Patel's batting potential to the fullest. This assessment from the cricketer-turned-commentator comes after the Gujarat all-rounder was sent in to bat at No. 8 in the second T20I in Chennai last week.

Chopra feels that India have a plethora of all-rounders in their lineup and this is leading to an under-utilisation of resources. In the second T20I, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel were the all-rounders for the Men in Blue. Chopra recalled Axar's important contributions with the bat on occasions when he was promoted up the order, including the T20 World Cup final last year. The former India opener said that the 31-year-old deserves to bat higher up in the order.

"There is a slight issue with too many all-rounders. You played [Washington Sundar] but made him bowl one over. You played Axar, got him to bowl, but changed his batting order to No. 8 or No. 9. Honestly speaking, when you have so many all-rounders, you don't know how to use them. Someone remains underbowled and someone doesn't get enough batting," Chopra said in his YouTube show.

"Ideally, Axar Patel should come to bat up the order. Forget the last match's shot, if you see the last one to one-and-a-half years, he is a very, very responsible batter. You can send him not at No. 8 but earlier. In fact, the Indian team have even sent him at No. 3 or No. 4. He managed the World Cup final. So you don't want to keep him so low in the batting order," Chopra added.

Axar was dismissed at a critical moment in the second T20I for just two runs after facing three balls, failing in an attempt to hit Liam Livingstone out of the park. However, Tilak Varma helped India register a thrilling two-wicket win.

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The third T20I is set to take place at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 28. England will have to win the match to keep the series alive.