Axar Patel wants to put his best foot forward in his bid to use every opportunity that comes along his way although he admits it is a “little tough” to cool his heels after a couple of games.
A like-for-like replacement of Ravindra Jadeja, the left-arm spinner and useful lower-middle-order batter is still not an India regular although he has 50 plus wickets in ODIs since 2014.
Axar Patel Wants To Do Well And Improve Himself After Getting Opportunity To Play For India
Axar Patel, with six scalps, was India’s most successful bowler in the Zimbabwe 3-match ODI series. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel has been increasingly handy with the bat in the lower order across formats – enough to be classified as a bowling allrounder.
“It is a little tough when you play two matches and suddenly you’ve to sit out,” Axar Patel said at the post-match press conference after India’s 13-run win over Zimbabwe in the third ODI.
“And then again you play two or three matches. It’s tough but I back myself and train my mind to think that this is the opportunity for you to do well,” he added.
In a bid to strengthen its bench for the future and regulate the workload of its top players, the Indian team management, which has an abundance of talent at its disposal, keeps rotating cricketers. Axar Patel feels in such a situation it is good to keep a positive mindset and treat every game as an opportunity.
“If I do well here, I’ll get to play the next game. I can also play with the (cribbing) mindset that I get dropped after getting a couple of opportunities but I take it in a positive way that I’m getting an opportunity to perform for India. If I do well, I’ll improve myself. So it’s on you how you take it.”
India completed a 3-0 sweep of hosts Zimbabwe here on Monday. The left-arm spinner snared two wickets while giving away 30 runs in his 10 overs, which also included a rare maiden over, in the third ODI.
“I thought this used pitch was a little bit dry and had something for the spinners. I bowled from the other end and tried to bowl the (on) stump lines. I was just waiting for the batter to commit some mistake and fortunately, I got a maiden.”
Axar Patel has picked 53 wickets from 44 ODIs averaging 30.26. He also has scored 273 runs averaging 17.06 with the bat. He debuted in ODIs against Bangladesh in 2014. He had slammed a match-winning career-best 64 off 35 deliveries to help India chase down 312 in the final over in the 2nd ODI on the recent West Indies tour.
Axar Patel: Shubman Gill Plays Spinners Well And Rotates The Strike Not Playing A Lot Of Dot Balls Which Is A Positive Sign
Shubman Gill struck his maiden ODI hundred as he scored a 97-ball 130 in the 3rd ODI against Zimbabwe. Notably, this was his maiden century in international cricket. He also showcased stellar form in the last ODI series against the West Indies.
Shubman Gill was adjudged as the Player of the Series in both the West Indies as well as the recently concluded Zimbabwe series. He amassed 245 runs in three games at an average of 122.50 in the Zimbabwe ODIs and 205 runs in 3 ODIs averaging 102.5 in the West Indies ODIs, topping the run chart on both occasions.
“The way he’s batting, the way he’s converting singles and doubles, the way he’s not playing a lot of dot balls, that to me is the biggest positive,” Axar Patel said.
“When he’s batting, there are always singles and twos coming and he’s able to put the bad balls for boundaries. He players spinners well, rotates the strike, and even plays the sweep and reverse sweep well.”
Axar Patel felt the Indian bowlers executed their plans in the three-match series.
“The bowlers were executing their plans. It was good to see the way Avesh (Khan) was bowling the yorkers and slower ones. The way Shardul (Thakur) was mixing up his slower ones and wide yorkers. Deepak (Chahar) got three wickets in his comeback match. The way we were executing the plans was a big positive,” he concluded.
The Men in Blue secured a thrilling 13-run victory in the third ODI. The visitors completed a stunning 3-0 series win over Zimbabwe in the ODI rubber. Sikandar Raza’s 115 went in vain. The pace trio Deepak Chahar (2/75 in 10 overs), Avesh Khan (3/66 in 9.3 overs ) and Shardul Thakur (1/55 in 9 overs) picked wickets but conceded runs at more than 6 runs per over.