Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels it will be an injustice to leave out all-rounder Axar Patel from the third Test match against England at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium, Rajkot. With Ravindra Jadeja likely to get back into the playing XI, either Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav will be backed by the team’s think tank.
While Patel has delivered consistently with the bat, his performances with the ball have crashed in the last couple of years. Patel could only take three wickets in four Test matches in 2023 at an average of 62. However, the left-hander scored 474 runs in four Test matches in the previous year at an impressive average of 88.
Patel returned with scores of 27 and 45 runs in the second Test match at Vizag. On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav bagged a total of four wickets in the last Test against England.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Ravindra Jadeja has become available. So if he is available, who will go out, whether Axar or Kuldeep will be left out? It’s a big question. If you see logically, I would say don’t touch Kuldeep because he is a wrist-spinner. A wrist-spinner traps the batters and we also saw him bowling well in Vizag.”
“In fact, he got to bowl before Axar, bowled more, and was more successful as well. So I feel Kuldeep Yadav is your automatic choice but it seems like you are doing an injustice if you leave Axar out. He has been very consistent, so why should we suddenly say that you can drop Axar?”
The renowned commentator reckons another option is to play four spinners in the team. Mukesh Kumar could not deliver in the second Test after Mohammed Siraj was rested. Siraj also went wicketless in the opening Test at his home ground in Hyderabad.
“Another option could be to play four spinners because we played Siraj in the first match and Mukesh in the second match, and both had a very limited contribution. They had limited opportunities because they got few overs.”
Jasprit Bumrah has been right on the money in the first two Test matches as he has bagged a total of 15 wickets but he hasn’t received support from his fast bowler partners.
“However, let’s be fair, the performance was not that good as well. While Bumrah was taking nine wickets in a match, both of them together picked up one wicket in two Tests. So is it necessary to play another fast bowler? You can play with just one fast bowler,” Chopra stated.
The third Test match between India and England will be played at Rajkot from 15th February onwards.
