Can Akshar Patel challenge Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin for a spot in India's World Cup XI?

Akshar Patel: Can the Gujarat lad replace Ashwin or Jadeja in the ODI setup?

Each time the selectors pick a youngster to turn out for the national side, and he does well with both bat & ball, everyone starts delivering the usual spiel: this boy will certainly step into the shoes of the legendary Kapil Dev! Finally, India has an answer to the all-rounder conundrum!

Then he misfires at crucial times and suddenly the knives are out, with the dogs baying for his blood. Thrust into the deep end & left to fend for himself, he slowly fades away into oblivion, relegated to a has-been.

Both the Pathan brothers are prime examples of this vicious cycle I like to call the ‘Great Indian Cricketing Circus’. Although their exploits have served India well in the past, the bane of inconsistency and zero clarity about their role has consigned them to what the Indian film industry calls junior artists. Although Ravichandran Ashwin & his spin-twin Ravindra Jadeja have both shown some ability with the bat, their primary role has been that of bowlers. Both have immense experience, in all three formats, at the highest level.

Given these facts, would it be wise to term the new kid on the block, Akshar Patel (I’m still confused as to the correct spelling of his name), as a challenger to the above-mentioned spinning all-rounders’ spots in the final squad for the upcoming World Cup? Would it be considered a leap of faith to trust a greenhorn over a battle-weary duo with more than 200 One-Day International games between them? The answer, to be honest, is No.

The role the team management sees for Akshar

The first thing to understand is the role that director Ravi Shastri, coach Duncan Fletcher and skipper MS Dhoni have visualized for the lad from Anand. Being a former left-arm spinner himself, Ravi would prefer to back him as a bowling all-rounder. Jadeja is more of a round-arm bowler with not too many variations in pace, though he does have a fair degree of control over his use of flighting the ball.

Ashwin’s change of pace is a little more subtle than that of the Saurashtra all-rounder. Of late, though, he has taken to bowling around the wicket – a move that may not pay too many dividends in the World Cup. Akshar, on the other hand, relies more on deceptive looping & a high amount of variations in speed, backed by a flatter, faster bowling trajectory. On slow pitches, these are ideal traits to have, but when you deal with tracks that are traditionally bouncy & contain more juice for the quicker bowlers, the spinners will have to bowl slower through the air – a trait the Gujarat lad is yet to master fully.

From the batting perspective, youth will triumph over older warhorses. Yet, given the fact that he bats lower down the order, Patel may not get enough time to settle in before unfurling his shots. We’ve seen his hard-hitting abilities, on the basis of which he considers himself to be a batting all-rounder. But if the management thinks otherwise, then it is better to continue with the existing spin twins because there may not be enough space for Akshar the bowler. Given Dhoni’s preference for part-timers, the 20-year-old may not be even in the World Cup scheme of things with regards to the final on-field eleven.

Exuberance versus Experience

I will take experience over the former any day. Both Ashwin and Jadeja have played in Australia before, so they will be much more familiar with the conditions on offer. They would already have mapped out appropriate lines & lengths to bowl at Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, etc. In addition to this, they have dealt with high-pressure situations before, and can wield the long handle to devastating effect when needed.

Akshar has all the exuberance of youth, so he can provide a bit of freshness, a lot of enthusiasm and a never-say-die spirit into the national side. But with exuberance comes the sense of responsibility – it’s okay to have that kind of energy being utilised for how it should be, but if the situation warrants a bowler (or a batsman) who can strike effectively & efficiently at the heart of the opposition, then experience gets the nod because exuberance can lead to fatal errors.

I honestly believe it is too early to tell as to how the young southpaw will respond to pressure situations. In the full series against Sri Lanka, Patel was hardly tested by the opposition batsmen save a few. Also, he has been given his opportunities on slow subcontinental pitches, which aren’t a true reflection of his potential. I would recommend keeping him in the reserves and play in the warm-up games on the harder tracks in Australia and New Zealand; that way, he would get a feel of match conditions in different scenarios. As of now, I do not see him replacing either Ashwin or Jadeja in the final XI.