Axar Patel has never made India feel Ravindra Jadeja’s absence in recent times: Vijay Dahiya

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Vijay Dahiya said that all-rounder Axar Patel has not made Ravindra Jadeja’s absence felt whenever he got the opportunity in India's playing XI. The all-rounder is expected to start for India’s next game in Super 4 of the Asia Cup 2022 on September 4, Sunday, in place of Jadeja, as the latter has been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury.

Axar has had a decent run of form for India in recent times, chipping in with crucial cameos with the bat at the back end of the innings and also being consistently among wicket-takers. He also offers a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja, given that Axar is also a left-arm orthodox spinner and a left-hand batter, capable of striking at a good rate.

Axar Patel will prove to be a lethal option: Dahiya

“Axar Patel has never made the team feel Ravindra Jadeja’s absence in recent times,” said Vijay Dahiya via 'BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti' on CricTracker on Friday. “Axar will prove to be a lethal option in the powerplay overs.” Axar made his T20I debut in July 2015 and has appeared in 25 T20Is ever since.

Axar has picked up 21 wickets with an economy rate of 7.33 and also scored 147 runs with a strike rate of 137.38. He also had a satisfactory Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 with Delhi Capitals (DC), scoring 182 runs with an average of 45.50 and a strike rate of 151.67, and also bagged six wickets with an economy rate of 7.47.

Jadeja, on the other hand, has been in supreme form, performing the role of a finisher and also middle-order batter whenever needed. He has also been one of India’s frontline spinners along with the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal. He was part of both the Asia Cup 2022 games that India played; and scored a crucial 35 against Pakistan and bagged a wicket against Hong Kong. While Jadeja’s injury has been a big blow for the Men in Blue, this is a great opportunity for Axar to pick up from where he had left off and deliver for the side.