"His ticket is confirmed" - Suresh Raina on Axar Patel's place in India's T20 World Cup squad

Suresh Raina believes Axar Patel has already cemented his place in India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Axar registered figures of 2/23 in four overs as India restricted Afghanistan to 158/5 in the first T20I in Mohali on Thursday, January 11. The Men in Blue chased down the below-par target with six wickets and 15 deliveries to spare to make a winning start in the three-match series.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Raina was asked about Axar's place in India's T20 World Cup squad, considering his competition with Ravindra Jadeja. He responded:

"He (Axar) bowls in the powerplay. He has done well whenever he has batted. (Pragyan) Ojha can tell better about his trajectory as he is himself a left-arm spinner. He varies his pace, the way he dismissed (Rahmanullah) Gurbaz. I feel his ticket is confirmed."

The former India all-rounder feels Jadeja's IPL performances could decide his place in India's T20 World Cup squad. He elaborated:

"It needs to be seen how much they are thinking about Jadeja. He has definitely been rested because there are five Test matches against England. Jadeja is an impact player. It will depend a lot on the IPL performance, the rhythm you are in, and the self-confidence you have."

Axar has picked up 47 wickets in 49 T20I innings at a reasonable economy rate of 7.34. Jadeja has accounted for 53 dismissals in 64 T20I innings at a slightly better economy rate of 7.10.

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"His game-reading sense is top-class" - Pragyan Ojha on Axar Patel

Axar Patel has a T20I economy rate of 6.98 since the beginning of 2023. [P/C: BCCI]

Pragyan Ojha concurred with Suresh Raina that Axar Patel should be a part of India's T20 World Cup squad. He reasoned:

"He should be kept. When a bowler or an all-rounder remains in and out of the team and performs whenever given a chance, it means his game-reading sense is top-class, his game awareness is always intact."

The former India spinner added that the Gujarat all-rounder has impressed in all three departments whenever given a chance.

"It's not easy to be in another player's shadow. We repeatedly talk about Ravindra Jadeja but Axar Patel has created an impact whenever given a chance both in batting and bowling, and he is a good fielder as well. He fields at point, just like Ravindra Jadeja."

However, Ojha acknowledged that choosing between the duo will be a tricky decision. He added that while Axar, unlike Jadeja, can bowl well both in the powerplay and at the death, the latter's experience works in his favor.