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The utility factor: Axar’s flexibility makes him key for India
Axar Patel's versatile batting and bowling skills make him crucial for India's T20 World Cup preparation as they face Australia in the series.
Kolkata: Trying to understand how Axar Patel could be the key to unlocking India’s batting flexibility feels appropriate as Australia aim to square the five-match series at Brisbane on Saturday.
Central to that must be finding a way to negate Patel. It’s an uphill task though, since Patel is the new-age allrounder looking to stretch the scope of his job description, giving India a resounding edge in the buildup to the T20 World Cup early next year.
Patel donning the role of a floating batter isn’t surprising because he can be a sweet timer of the ball. And because it had gotten him so far, it’s not entirely surprising that Gautam Gambhir has tapped him for the position.
Two performances justify this conviction. Etched in the mind is the 31-ball 47 that Patel scored after walking in at 34/3. India couldn’t afford more wickets, but neither could they have risked the innings getting stalled. Patel’s batting however had an unbeatable risk-reward ratio, a wide range of boundary shots tempered by the ability to steadily rotate the strike.
A more restrained version of that innings unfolded almost a year later, at the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai. The only left-handed batter in the top six, Patel’s innings proved to be the glue in India’s late order push in the chase of a tricky total against a spirited bowling attack.
Both innings, though in different formats, came at No 5. But nothing is fixed in this Indian batting order. Which is why in the 10 innings from Patel in T20Is this year, he has batted twice at No 5, once at No 6, thrice at No 7 and four times at No 8.
On Thursday, Patel came out at No 8. And in a format like T20, it’s a position where you either hit out or get out. Patel however had the advantage of information passed on from the batters higher up in the order.
“After I spoke with the batters, they were saying that the wicket is not coming on,” he said after the 4th T20I. “There was unexpected bounce and the wicket was a little bit slower, so I just held my position and hit.”
Easier said than done because the slower ball on a two-paced surface can be a wicket-taking delivery. Yet Patel still managed to find a boundary against Marcus Stoinis by going wide of long-on. Next ball, he shuffled across the stumps to pummel a six over the square-leg.
These aren’t easy shots to execute. That’s precisely why India have turned to Patel as the floating batter, since he has the skill and conviction to pull off such audacious shots when needed. Impact is the keyword here, even if it’s off just two balls in an over. And Patel can achieve it at any position.
“I think whenever the team needs me, that’s my preferred (batting) position,” he said. “If I have an impact for my team, I think that’s the best game for me. I don’t think that number 6 or 7 is my preferred position. I just go there and think what my team needs now, I’ll do that.”
Throw in the bowling and there is no debating Patel’s utility. A low economy is his currency of course, but more rewarding is the unpredictability factor in his bowling, in that he can bowl arm balls or cross seam and gently slip in the turner as the variation. The angles have been as tight as ever, and the control over his length has improved in recent years. Comparisons with Ravindra Jadeja were wholly based on the likeness in their bowling, but the small deceptions that Patel brings to the table—a higher bowling trajectory, the subtle change of pace and better use of the crease—makes him a more difficult bowler to score off.
Case in point is the dismissal of Matthew Short who went for the sweep shot because he thought he had the angle of Patel’s trajectory covered. He did not. It was flatter alright, but not entirely an arm ball. The one that castled Josh Inglish’s stumps was straight though, and flatter too. He didn’t spin the ball much, the pitch didn’t warrant it too. The anticipation that this performance generates though is indisputable—If he is this good in Australia in early summer, imagine what Patel could pull off in India next year.
