5 reasons why Axar Patel should always be played ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in ODIs

Ravindra Jadeja may be India’s premier bowler and all-rounder in Test cricket. No one can question his place in the Test squad as he is at the top of the ICC bowler's rankings and second on the all-rounder’s ranking in the longest format of the sport. However, when it comes to playing the shorter formats, he is not even close to being the same player as he is in the longer form.

A lot of times we have seen his bowling getting belted in ODIs. At times he is pretty one-dimensional and predictable as a bowler. He continuously keeps bowling at one pace and doesn’t change his line and length much. There is a much better option and a like for like replacement for him in Axar Patel to field in the ODI squad. Axar is a better bet than Jadeja in ODIs in many ways. Let us have a look at the five reasons why Axar should always be played ahead of Jadeja in ODIs.

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#1 Varies his pace, line and length better than Jadeja

Jadeja is the kind of bowler who keeps bowling at a consistent line and length and that too without any pace variation. However, Axar has subtle variations in pace and flight. Moreover, he keeps changing his line and length at regular intervals and makes it hard for the batsmen to play him.

Variation in pace and flight is an important aspect for a spinner. Jadeja often bowls flat whenever he goes for a few runs. He is hesitant to give the ball air and flight. Axar, on the other hand, is not afraid to experiment with his bowling even when he gets belted for runs. He is a thinking bowler and believes in variations as the key to success in his bowling.

#2 Better Wicket taking ability

Axar is not as experienced as Jadeja in ODIs. Jadeja has a vast experience of playing in 136 ODIs whereas Axar has only played in 33 ODIs till date. However, within this short period of time, he has displayed a much better wicket taking ability than his senior.

Axar has picked up 40 wickets so far in his ODI career at a strike rate of 40 which is better than that of Jadeja who has 155 wickets to his name but at a strike rate of 43.91. The number of ODIs that he has played so far might not seem to be enough to compare him with Jadeja’s skills. However, when their List-A records are compared, those numbers tell the same story as well.

Axar has a strike rate of 38.8 in picking up 120 wickets from 90 List A matches. Jadeja lags behind here also. He has a strike rate of 41.3 in picking up 216 wickets from 181 List-A matches.

#3 Ability to check the run flow by tying batsmen down

Axar Patel also has a much better ability to control the run-flow than that of Jadeja. He can dry up the runs in the middle overs and can exert a lot of pressure on the batsmen. His constant change of length and pace keeps the batsmen guessing.

In 33 ODIs Axar’s economy rate stands at 4.26 as compared to Jadeja’s 4.9 in 136 ODI games. Things are pretty similar when List A record is also considered. In List A cricket, Axar has an economy rate of 4.27 as compared to Jadeja’s 4.72.

Moreover, Axar uses the crease to good effect to create an awkward inward angle in his bowling. That allows no room whatsoever to the batsmen to free their arms. And that is how Axar breaches the defence of the batsmen and traps them lbw most of the times.

#4 Extracts more bounce and bite on flat surfaces

Axar’s tall physical stature helps him in extracting more bounce and bite off the pitch than Jadeja does. Jadeja might come in useful on pitches favouring spin bowling. However, he struggles to find any sort of rhythm on flat batting pitches.

Axar, on the other hand, has that natural advantage of extracting more bounce and can prove to be lethal on flat decks favouring the batsmen. As a result, it makes Axar a much more reliable and potent wicket-taking option to field on all kinds of wickets.

#5 Big hitting ability and fielding almost on the same page as Jadeja

Axar has shown on numerous occasions that he can play blinders with the bat. He has been instrumental as a pinch-hitter for his IPL franchise, the Kings XI Punjab, over the years. Moreover, he is a pretty safe fielder as well and seldom commits mistakes.

Although Jadeja’s fielding abilities might be hard to match for any player, Axar being a better bowler and an equally capable batsman edges him out in that respect. Moreover, Jadeja bats as low as no.8 or 9 in ODIs and his batting abilities are needed in ODIs on very rare occasions. So, bowling becomes the main criterion for selection and Axar should be considered for ODIs keeping that in mind.