Parthiv Patel said that he would prefer Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja going into the T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in the West Indies and United States of America (USA).
Axar has been in impressive form in India’s ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan. He is currently the leading wicket-taker, having picked up four wickets from two matches at an economy rate if 5.
Parthiv said that it’s tough to get on top of Axar because of the pace at which he bowls.
“His strength is the accuracy with which he bowls with. He doesn’t bowl in the slot, most of the time. If you want to hit him, you have to hit him use the feet or make room. And using feet is not easy against him because of the pace with which he bowls,” Parthiv was quoted as saying on Jio Cinemas.
Parthiv was of the opinion that having the ability and skills to bowl in the powerplay makes Axar a cricketer, “who can perform everywhere”.
“He is someone who can perform everywhere. In this T20 format, yes, we talk about Ravindra Jadeja, but I think Axar gives you that stability. He bowls in powerplays, and it makes him an even better cricketer,” he stated.
In the second T20I on Sunday at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, Axar won the Player of the Match award after he finished with figures of 4-0-17-2. He got the wickets of Ibrahim Zadran and Gulbadin Naib to make sure that India restricted the Afghans to 172 on an excellent pitch to bat on.
Axar hasn’t got a chance to bat in the series, but Parthiv said that he brings in more value to the team due to his power-hitting ability.
“In this format, yes. I think Axar brings in more variety. He doesn’t bowl in a one-dimensional way. He bats at any number. If you look at this Indian team, you need a power hitter, and Axar brings that. And in this format, Axar is ahead of Jadeja, as far as I am concerned,” Parthiv added.
India’s third and final T20I against Afghanistan is on January 17 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.