Spin all-rounders are a position in which Team India has been naturally gifted throughout the years. While there are other players in the current team who match the same profile, two of them are too similar for their own good and frequently find themselves pitted against one other when it comes to selection calls.
Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja have both impressed for India with their left-arm spin bowling and utility hitting across forms. However, just as it appeared like the torch had been handed from Jadeja to Axar in T20Is, the selection committee surprised everyone by removing the latter from the next tour of South Africa.
Instead, Jadeja was not only picked to the T20I squad over Axar, but he was also named as the team’s vice-captain. Axar had a historic year in T20s, beginning with the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), but he was unable to reach the Indian selection when it counted most.
With the focus on the T20 World Cup in 2024, every match appears to be vital in terms of preparation, and Axar missing out on the selection for the South Africa T20Is is a significant setback.
On that topic, here are three reasons why Axar Patel is a greater T20I asset for India than Ravindra Jadeja.
1. Axar Patel’s Batting Success in T20Is
Axar Patel’s significant improvement with the bat is a major factor for his development in T20 cricket. In the 2023 IPL, the all-rounder made 283 runs for the Delhi Capitals (DC) with a strike rate of 139.41 and has 190 runs for Team India this year at a strike rate of 157.02.
He can get going straight away if he comes in late in the innings, and he can even bat intelligently in dangerous situations. Before accelerating, the left-handed hitter has demonstrated the ability to read the situation properly, rotate the strike, and absorb pressure when it matters.
Ravindra Jadeja’s white-ball hitting, on the other hand, has decreased significantly on an opposite arc when compared to his red-ball batting. He has battled to establish the correct speed to start his innings and has also struggled with strike rotation, putting him under extra strain in the middle overs.
In T20s, Ravindra Jadeja has a dot ball percentage of 32 and a strike rate of 129, which are concerning stats for a lower-middle order hitter in contemporary cricket.
2. Axar’s versatility
Axar Patel has recently demonstrated that he is capable of bowling in the powerplay, which Ravindra Jadeja has only done on occasion in his career.
Axar has been a welcome respite for captains looking to tighten things up, particularly when the pacers have been taken on by the opposition’s top-order hitters. As a spinner, he is skilled at bowling in the middle overs and, in rare situations, even the death overs.
Furthermore, although few bowlers can control the opposition on turning grounds, Axar stands out as a stronger alternative on all types of wickets. He has taken advantage of the crease and the angles it provides, as well as the extra bounce provided by his height, to outwit hitters.
In terms of batting, Axar is a useful floater option if quick runs are needed or the team needs a left-handed alternative in the middle. The floater experiment was conducted and tested on Jadeja, but it had no results.
While Axar still has to establish that he can be a useful alternative further up the order, he appears to be a far more plausible choice than Jadeja, at least on paper.
3. Stats Show Axar’s Edge Over Jadeja in All Departments
Finally, even if observation falls short, Axar Patel still has a statistical edge against Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja has played 308 T20s in his career, scoring 3359 runs with a strike rate of 129 and an average of 25.64. He has 214 wickets at a 7.56 economy rate.
Axar, on the other side, has played 232 T20s, scoring 2545 runs with a strike rate of 134.65 and an average of 22.52. He has taken 196 wickets at a 6.99 economy rate.
The statistics may appear identical, but what matters here is how they have been since 2022. Axar has played nearly twice as many T20 matches as Ravindra Jadeja and has made significantly more significant contributions.
With his most recent T20I appearance coming in the 2022 Asia Cup, Jadeja’s on-again, off-again relationship with T20s is clear, with the major reason being his rigorous cricketing schedule.
Jadeja’s potential is undeniable, and he may have a nice run leading up to the T20 World Cup, but it comes at the expense of all the work that has been done to elevate Axar from a backup to a proven first-team member.
