It took Axar Patel nearly a decade to don the whites. The left-arm spinning all-rounder made his first-class debut for Gujarat in November 2012 and it wasn’t before February 2021 that Axar made his Test debut. He had played for India in white-ball cricket and featured in 49 international matches, 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is.
In fact, Axar hadn’t been in the scheme of things for Indian scheme of things for nearly three years. An injury to Ravindra Jadeja in Australia opened up the doors for a magnificent comeback. Before making his Test debut in February 2021 in the second Test against England, Axar had last played for India in February 2018 in a T20I series in South Africa.
Then came the Test debut and the left-arm spinner from Gujarat hasn’t looked back. He has become an integral part of the Indian Test side. He may be third in the pecking order (behind Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja) as far as the spinners are concerned but he has already proved his worth.
Axar Patal has played only at home in his short Test career so far but he has ripped through the opposition almost every time he has stepped on to the field. The 28-year-old has returned with 36 wickets at a stunning average of 11.86 in the longest format. Moreover, he has a bowling strike-rate of 33.6. He has picked up five five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul so far.
- Indian Rupee as a currency
- Very Competitive odds
- Website available in Hindi
- Indian Rupee as a currency
- Very Competitive odds
- Website available in Hindi
Axar’s dream debut series
Axar Patel missed the first Test against England due to a knee injury and India missed him big time. With Jadeja already injured, Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t get too much support from the likes of Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar. Hence, Axar’s inclusion in the second Test made a huge difference. He was a near like for like replacement for Jadeja when it comes to his speed and accuracy and he stepped up beautifully.
On Test debut against England in Chennai, Axar took seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings. He dismissed England captain Joe Root twice in the game. He finished that series with a whopping 27 wickets in three Test matches while averaging 10.59 and striking at 28.3. Those numbers include four fifers and a ten-fer.
After the dream debut series, Axar fared really well against New Zealand too last November. The left-arm spinner returned with nine scalps at an average of 15.66 and also picked up one five-wicket haul.
The rocking day-night Test
When the day-night Test match came around against England in March last year, a lot of them expected that the fast bowlers will have to do the heavy lifting. However, it was Axar Patel who hogged all of the limelight and did the bulk of the work for the Virat Kohli-led Indian side. He picked up 11 wickets in the match to rip apart England’s batting line-up and give India a famous win.
Axar took bowled 21.4 overs (out of the 48.4 that India bowled) in the first innings and had figures of 6/38 as England were bowled out for a mere 112. He bowled 15 overs in the second essay and picked up another fifer – 5/32 as the visitors were shot out only 81. Axar won the player of the match for his performance with the ball across both innings.
Can Axar Patel repeat his heroics in the upcoming day-night Test?
Axar Patel didn’t play the first Test against Sri Lanka as he was recovering from a shin injury. He has now been drafted into the Indian squad for the second and final Test of the series which will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Jayant Yadav didn’t have the best of times in the first Test and he is likely to be replaced by Axar who has had a magnificent start to his Test career. Add to the fact that he was simply outstanding in the day-night Test against England last year. Hence, he will be a key part of the Indian playing XI as he is most probably going to join Ashwin and Jadeja and complete the spin trio.
Going by the way Axar Patel has performed, a stellar performance can’t be ruled out. Hence, he has the odds of 2.75 to be the best bowler for India in their first innings.