With only one wicket in the first three Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches, Axar Patel’s place in the Indian team was called into question. Though the all-rounder contributed with the bat, many wondered if replacing him with Kuldeep Yadav would help the Indian bowling attack.
As the subject was discussed in the commentary on Day 2 of the Ahmedabad Test, cricketing stars like Dinesh Karthik and Ravi Shastri voiced their opinions. Karthik asked Shastri on-air if he would have gone with Kuldeep Yadav in the fourth Test. However, the former India head coach disagreed, stating that he would not make the change because of what Axar does with the bat.
“Ravi Bhai, would you have gone with Kuldeep Yadav,” Karthik asked Shastri on-air during the second day’s play. “Very early. But if it wouldn’t have been for Axar’s batting, this series would’ve looked a lot different. India wanted strength in their batting and they got it. Had it not been for his innings in Delhi, India wouldn’t have been able to be 2-0. And his innings in Kanpur,” responded the former India coach.
Shastri elaborated on his point, saying that while Axar wasn’t as important with the ball in the previous three Tests, his bowling will be crucial in Ahmedabad. “You couldn’t have used him previously (in the series). Because the ball was turning. Then Ashwin and Jadeja become your primary bowlers. But here, you need him. And he’s done the containing job well,” he opined.
IND vs AUS- 4th Test match
As it turned out, Axar did go on to give India a significant breakthrough when he dismissed Usman Khawaja, who had scored 180 runs for Australia before being dismissed. Khawaja’s innings, along with Cameron Green’s 114-run knock, allowed Australia set a total of 480 runs in the innings.
Now, India has gotten into a good position with the bat as Shubman Gill has taken the charge to get the runs. They will now hope to get beyond Australia’s total and gain a first-innings lead.
