Axar Patel: From journeyman to India’s Man Friday in white-ball formats

Dubai: Kane Williamson stood between India and an all-win record in the Champions Trophy group stage, keeping New Zealand’s chase of 250 flickering with a polished 81.

Till then batting judiciously, Williamson gave a full-hearted charge against Axar Patel and the slightly slanted delivery evaded his downcoming bat for KL Rahul to complete the stumping.

It was the last ball of Axar’s spell that read 10-0-32-1, and stood out for its accuracy and the cunningness to maximise his ability in favourable conditions.

But the effort understandably went unnoticed in the din surrounding fellow spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s five-wicket haul.

But it is nothing new for Axar, as he once was labelled mercilessly as ‘poor man’s Jadeja’ for the similarity in his skills — a left-arm spin bowler and a left-handed batter.

However, it was true that Axar was struggling to break free from the shadow of his illustrious senior teammate. The only way Axar could have cut open a path for himself was to improve his batting skills, and he started making a conscious effort in 2022.

An unbeaten 64 against the West Indies in Barbados gave him the necessary confidence in his own abilities.

It was the breakaway point for him, and Axar admitted it.

“After that match against the West Indies, I knew I could finish games. As soon as I gained that self-belief, I didn’t think much about whether I wanted to show batting to anyone or not,” he said.

But even then, promoting Axar to No. 5 ahead of KL Rahul, who averages over 50 in that slot with five hundreds, was a massive risk, but a decision the management was confident in.

Axar started batting at No. 5 regularly from the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Colombo last year, and made an immediate impression with a 44.

In the next six innings in which he came out at that position, Axar has made 52, 41 not out, 8, 3 not out, 42 and 27.

They are certainly not eye-popping numbers but carried a deeper value in the context of those particular matches, besides giving India a left-handed option in the middle-order.

Once Rahul was anointed as India's No. 1 wicketkeeper batter ahead of Rishabh Pant, they needed a left-hander in the top five to counter spin in the middle-order.

His 42 against New Zealand at the DICS was an example, where he warded off the twin threat from Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell.

The knock helped India reach a defendable 249, while helping Shreyas Iyer to raise a crucial 98 runs for the fourth wicket.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir was delighted to see his gamble bringing in some desired results.

“We know the quality and ability Axar has, and we're going to keep giving him that opportunity at number five so that he can keep performing, and more importantly, keep expressing and showing his talent to the world,” said Gambhir.

“He has made a reasonable amount of contributions since he started batting at number five. People can keep talking about making Axar bat at number five.

“But yes, that's where it is very important from a team point of view and it is not about individuals, it's about what we want as a team and we'll continue to do that,” he noted.

Skipper Rohit Sharma said Axar was given the clarity about his role ahead of the ODI series against England at home.

“A clear message was given to him when we started the ODI series against England, that no matter what the situation is, you will bat at 5.

“The kind of improvement he's shown with his bat over the last year or so is superb to watch. That is where we felt that we can utilise him to bat in the middle-order,” Rohit said.

Axar will soon have another chance to showcase his growing prowess as an all-rounder in the Champions Trophy final against the Kiwis on Sunday.

Irrespective of the result, there should not be a rush to put him in the Ravindra Jadeja league as the senior pro is a stellar bowler and handy batter in ODIs. However, India will be relieved that there will be a seamless back-up option once Jadeja walks into his sunset, which is not faraway.