Axar Patel declared superior to Ravindra Jadeja as Irfan Pathan and Sanjay Manjrekar make massive claims

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan compared the role of Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024. He said that the Delhi Capitals all-rounder has given more stability to the team than Jadeja. 

Axar Patel so far has proved to be a vital cog in the wheel for the Indian team in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Not only with the ball, but the all-rounder has been extremely good for India with the bat in the tournament, helping the team reach the Super 8 stage of the tournament. 

Axar Patel has chipped with wickets at crucial junctures of the game. The all-rounder has picked three wickets from as many games at an average of 13 and an economy of 6.50. He has been extremely economical and also bowled a sensational 16th over against Pakistan, tilting the game in his team's favour 

Axar Patel has got just one opportunity with the bat but he played a decent role. The all-rounder was promoted up the order and played a vital innings, scoring 20 runs off 18 balls. He steadied the innings after the team lost two early wickets and played some crisp shots. 

On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja hardly has played any role with the bat and ball in the tournament so far. He got out for a golden duck against Pakistan and has bowled just three overs in as many matches without any wickets at an economy rate of 6.50. He also didn't get a single over against the USA. 

Comparing Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, Irfan Pathan stated that the latter has more range and the team has got more liberty with him. He also believes that Patel has provided more stability than Jadeja. Speaking to Star Sports, he explained: 

"If you compare Jadeja to Patel, as far as the batting ability is concerned Axar Patel has more range. India needs to take that advantage, since he’s come in that liberty has been given to the Indian team that we have Axar Patel that okay we have Axar Patel in the batting department who can bat at number eight and he can even bat at number four if the team requires as well. So the stability given by Axar Patel has been given to team India a lot more than Ravindra Jadeja." 

Axar Patel has been their go-to spin all-rounder - Sanjay Manjrekar 

Sanjay Manjrekar, who was also present during the discussion, noted that India hasn't used Ravindra Jadeja much with the ball as Axar Patel has been their go-to man. He pointed out that Patel has got more backing than Jadeja by the management. He explained: 

"Jadeja interestingly, India haven’t actually bowled him a lot. Axar Patel has been their go-to spin all-rounder, even when they needed to promote somebody to number four against Pakistan they chose Axar Patel. It’s interesting how the handling of all-rounders shows that this team management is backing Axar Patel the bowling all-rounder more than Jadeja," he concluded.