Ian Bell feels India should open the bowling with Axar Patel in the final Test

Ian Bell has said Team India should give the new ball to Axar Patel in the fourth Test against England.

The lanky left-arm spinner has scalped 18 wickets in the two Tests he has played in the series thus far at an unbelievable average of 9.44.

Most consecutive 5-Wicket haul in a Test innings by Indian:4 Harbhajan3 Sivaramakrishnan3 Srinath3 Axar Patel*

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) February 25, 2021

While previewing the final Test on ESPNcricinfo, Ian Bell was asked if England will welcome the change of ball from pink to red.

The former England cricketer observed that the lacquer on the pink ball certainly made it tougher for the visiting batsmen. However, he feels India should open the attack with Axar Patel even with the red ball.

"The pitch should be better, the lacquer on the ball really sped the ball and the straight ball skidded on nicely. So, it should be a little bit more normal. But more of the same for India, I will be opening with Axar Patel straightaway. There will be two seamers and three spinners again. They have certainly found England struggle a bit recently, I think it's five innings they have not scored over 200," said Bell.

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The England batsmen need to be a bit more proactive against Axar Patel: Ian Bell

Axar Patel has bowled immaculate lines and lengths to the England batsmen

Ian Bell was further asked how England can counter the Axar Patel threat. He responded that the southpaws in their batting lineup should be more aggressive against him, similar to the approach Rishabh Pant took against Jack Leach.

"For me the left-handers will have to take a little bit of ownership, as we saw Rishabh Pant do with the ball turning in from Jack Leach. They need to be a bit more proactive, maybe try and ask him a few questions, try to take him on a little bit," said Bell.

The 38-year-old feels the right-handers need to look to counter the incoming deliveries from Axar Patel and not worry too much about the balls spinning away.

"For the right-handers, certainly the last Test match was pretty hard. You have to make a decision on which dismissal you gonna take out of the game and England probably lost too many LBW and bowled to straight deliveries. You need to accept that if you get one on middle-stump and it turns and you get caught slip or it hits top of off, that's great bowling. But they have to make a decision on really negating that straight delivery," added Bell.

The stylish batsman signed off by lauding Axar Patel for the nagging lines and lengths he has bowled. He pointed out that the pace of his deliveries has made it difficult for the England batsmen to employ the sweep shot.

"They have found Axar Patel the hardest, if we saw how well England swept the ball in the first Test, they haven't found a way yet to put Axar Patel under a lot of pressure. He has been outstanding to be fair. I know there has been talk about the pitches but the areas he has bowled, his lines and lengths, his pace has been absolutely outstanding," concluded Bell.

Outstanding from Axar Patel. Used the conditions perfectly. And the moment he got one to turn early, his quicker, skiddier ball was going to be the danger.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 24, 2021

Axar Patel was almost unplayable in the day-night Test at Ahmedabad, with the pink ball zipping through off the surface. It will be interesting to see if he can enjoy similar success with the red ball, especially if the pitch is not a raging turner like the one in Chennai.