Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has showered praise on Axar Patel after Men in Blue claimed a seven-wicket win against Pakistan. Salman Agha decided to bat first but Pakistan batters could not deliver consistently and were restricted to 127-9 in 20 overs.
Axar Patel returned with figures of 2-18 in his quota of four overs. Patel accounted for Salman Agha and Fakhar Zaman in his fine spell as he bowled in the right areas.
Chopra said the all-rounder was promoted as vice-captain as he had performed consistently for the team.
Aakash Chopra said on ESPN Cricinfo, “He was held back because of Fakhar Zaman’s presence. Otherwise, you would see Axar bowling at least an over or two in the powerplay. He was held back, waited for the field restrictions to be lifted. First over that he bowls to Fakhar Zaman, he dismisses him. That’s the quality – flies under the radar because he is your conventional left-arm spinner.
The renowned commentator highlighted that Patel has ticked the right boxes in the last couple of years.
“Whatever we have seen of Axar in the last 24 months, he hasn’t put a foot wrong. That is why he was elevated to being the vice-captain of the side. Extremely underrated. Knows the way to actually control a T20 innings irrespective of the phase, till the 16th over… He’ll do a job with the new ball in the powerplay. You bring him in the middle, he will not concede a lot of runs. He’s actually very effective,” Chopra added.
On the other hand, former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar said Patel has the temperament and skill to deliver on the biggest stage and uses the drift with guile. Bangar recalled Patel always wanted to bowl to Chris Gayle in the IPL despite being a left-arm spinner.
“The number of times he gets batsmen by drifting the ball away and more so the left-handers… Some bowlers do create an angle by bowling that wider line. But here, the ball which dismissed Fakhar Zaman actually started from a leg stump line, but it continued to drift away. I have experienced him wanting to bowl to Chris Gayle when he was at the top of his game. The temperament helps.”
India will next take on Oman at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday.
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