Team India took a bold selection decision by removing Axar Patel for the crucial third Test against England in Rajkot.
With Ravindra Jadeja back in action and Kuldeep Yadav impressing in the second Test, Axar Patel and the second seamer had to compete for one position. The team management chose Mohammed Siraj as the second seamer in the playing XI.
Despite being done to attain the best possible squad balance, Axar Patel may feel shortchanged given that he is India’s third top run-scorer in the series. The all-rounder has scored 133 runs at an average of 33.25 and appears to be at ease against English spin bowlers.
Yet, the effectiveness of his bowling dips, given just five wickets in the two Test games, with a 41.20 average.
Ironically, despite being a bowling all-rounder, Axar Patel’s batting has improved dramatically since the start of last year, while his bowling has slowed in Tests.
At 30, he’s only snagged eight wickets in his last six test matches, with a disappointing average close to 50. Nonetheless, he has scored important runs for India in the lower order on difficult pitches, as indicated by a batting average of 57 during the same span.
Nonetheless, most supporters on Twitter were furious by Axar Patel’s descent from the sidelines and expressed their sentiments.
Here are some of the reactions:
Four changes in India’s XI for third Test against England
For the third Test against England, Team India made four changes to their playing XI from the previous match.
In addition to Jadeja replacing Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj returned to the side to replace Mukesh Kumar. Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel made their Test debuts, replacing Shreyas Iyer and KS Bharat.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma announced the changes after winning the toss and deciding to bat first.
“We’re going to bat first. We’ve made some changes, made four changes. Some injuries and some guys coming back from the last game. Two debutants. Siraj and Jadeja are back. Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar miss out.”
Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma’s team bounced back from a surprising 28 run loss in Hyderabad’s first series match. They claimed victory in the next match at Visakhapatnam by a whopping 106 runs.
England confirmed their playing XI for this game the day before, with bowler Mark Wood replacing off-spinner Shoaib Bashir as the only alteration.