FEATURES
Follow UsIndia have a problem.
The team’s batting against spin is a glaring issue, yes, but we’re not talking about that here. Neither are we talking about the KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant conundrum or the waning international returns of Virat Kohli in 2024.
This is a whole different issue altogether. And that is, what are they going to do when Ravindra Jadeja is deemed available to play ODIs?
At this moment in time, they have three options:
a) Keep Axar Patel at No.7 and drop Jadeja
b) Play both Axar and Jadeja together as they did at the T20 World Cup
c) Bring back Jadeja and drop Axar
In the Sri Lanka ODIs, the Men in Blue played three specialist spinners, fielding two bowling all-rounders — Axar and Washington Sundar — in the same XI. It was a continuation of what they did at the T20 World Cup.
But, in the long run, that’s out of the equation in ODIs.
For one, the conditions in the Champions Trophy are unlikely to be as extreme as they were in the Sri Lanka ODIs, where playing three specialist spinners was a necessity.
And secondly, the chances of India entering a 50-over game at a mega event with just two specialist seamers, even if Hardik Pandya is fit and available, are very low, unless the conditions turn out to be as extreme as they were in the Australia game at Chepauk in the World Cup last year.
That means only two spinners will play in most games, so with Kuldeep Yadav being a lock in the XI, Axar and Jadeja cannot co-exist in the starting XI. So that’s option ‘b’ out of the window.
That brings it down to option ‘a’ vs option ‘c’: Axar vs Jadeja.
If we’re talking about incumbency, Jadeja walks straight back into the XI ahead of Axar. The 35-year-old hasn’t played ODI cricket since the World Cup final against Australia and, really, has done absolutely nothing wrong to get dropped.
Forget doing ‘nothing wrong’. Jadeja was excellent in ODIs last year. Overall, the left-arm spinner enjoyed his best year with the ball in a decade — 31 wickets at an economy of 4.60 — and complemented it by scoring 309 runs at an average of 30.90.
He was India’s best spinner in the World Cup across all metrics and averaged 40 with the bat while striking at over 100. You really can’t ask for much more from your bowling all-rounder.
But if Jadeja returns, Axar has to go. And that’s where you’ve got to ask the question: Can India really NOT pick Axar in ODIs going forward?
The Men in Blue might have slipped to an embarrassing defeat in the ODIs against the Lankans, but the series further reiterated the fact that, at present, Axar, who is at the absolute peak of his powers, is one of India’s most valuable white-ball players.
After a career-defining performance at the T20WC in the Caribbean, Axar entered the Sri Lanka tour wanting to take the No.7 slot in ODIs. Across the three games, he did everything in his power to show that he is the man for both the present and the future.
In the series, the 30-year-old bowled more overs than all but one other individual across both sides (Kuldeep Yadav) and took four wickets at an economy of 3.86. These are, in isolation, perfectly acceptable returns, even for a specialist finger spinner.
However, on top of this, Axar also proved to be India’s second-best batter in the series.
The left-hander hit new batting heights at the T20WC, and the Sri Lanka ODIs saw Axar build on that and continue to develop into an absolute menace with the bat in hand.
In the entire series, across both sides, only Rohit Sharma (103) scored more runs against spin than Axar. But unlike the Indian skipper, the 30-year-old amassed all those runs when the side was in crisis — twice.
In the tied first ODI, the visitors were reeling at 132/5 at one point, having endured a collapse of 57/5. That they got within touching distance of the target was largely thanks to the left-hander, whose 33 not only helped India recover from the collapse but put them on course to win the game.
He bettered this effort in the second ODI with a run-a-ball 44, under eerily similar circumstances, but, to his dismay, India eventually ended up falling short there, too.
Axar’s showing with the bat in this series restated what’s been evident for some time now — that he’s no longer just a bowling all-rounder but someone who has evolved to the extent that he is capable of slotting in at No.6 as a specialist batter.
It’s this drastic improvement of the 30-year-old, with the bat in hand, that is set to give the Indian management an almighty headache while zeroing in on the Champions Trophy starting XI.
Do they persist with Jadeja because of the credits he has in the bank, or do they take a leap of faith and back Axar to be the main man come CT 2025?
As it stands, all we can say with certainty is that both all-rounders pretty much have a similar impact with the ball in hand, but Axar is in a different league to Jadeja when it comes to batting.
He is more aggressive and dynamic, has more gears to his batting and is crucially a significantly better batter against spin. He will provide the side batting flexibility that they likely are not bound to get with Jadeja in the XI.
But, then again, Jadeja is Jadeja; he brings with him that ‘it’ factor that’s been responsible for so many Indian triumphs in the past decade. His best days in T20s might be behind him, but there’s nothing to suggest that he is someone that the team needs to move on from in 50-over cricket.
When it comes to selection, headaches don’t get more headachier than this.
The Indian selectors, GG & Co., are set to have their work cut out.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
