India might prefer Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja for T20 World Cup: Sanjay Manjrekar
Amidst growing competition for a slot at the T20 World Cup, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar believes it is not going to be easy for all rounder Ravindra Jadeja to make the cut for Australia this winter.
Manjrekar says India "might" settle with Axar Patel because of his better bowling capabilities instead of Jadeja, the batting allrounder, if the selectors and the management think they have enough batting strength available within the top six.
The ex cricketer turned commentator took heart from the way Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya performed in the lower middle-order during the South Africa T20I series at home. And that could well be the reason Jadeja finds himself out of the first-choice playing XI.
Always a firm believer in picking five specialist bowlers, Sanjay Manjrekar thinks Axar may pip Jadeja in the reckoning for the T20 World Cup.
Axar Patel "might" get picked above Ravindra Jadeja, says Manjrekar.
"Clearly, Dinesh Karthik has shown that he can be a number 6 or 7 as a pure batter. The impact that he is making is phenomenal and we saw that in T20Is against South Africa and also in the IPL. So, it’s not really going to be easy for Jadeja to come in and take his place and India might settle in with somebody like Axar Patel," Manjrekar responded to a query by First Post in a virtual interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.
"The side now has Hardik Pandya, Karthik batting down the order. Rishabh Pant is also there so it’s not going to be easy for him. But knowing the kind of player Jadeja is, he will be making sure that the headache doesn’t get less for the selectors," he added.
Jadeja may have had an overall poor T20I record to his name - avg 21.73; SR 124.42 - but the left-hander has been an improved power-hitter in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Burdened by the captaincy, he didn't have the best of IPL 2022, but had a collective average of 57.37 with a strike-rate of 157.73 from the two previous seasons for CSK.
In this phase, Axar has shown improved powerhitting game, too, but still has a strike-rate of only 137.64 with an average less than 15.
Calls for Jadeja's sacking from T20Is have been rife from time to time, but the decision-makers have backed their premier spin allrounder to soon take his IPL ascent to the shortest format for India, with head coach Rahul Dravid also inclined towards a capable hitter at No.7.