Ego clash between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel? Stephen Fleming makes a huge claim

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming made a massive claim on Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel ahead of the semi-final between India and England in the T20 World Cup 2024. He said that management needs to utilize them and make sure that ego problems are not there between them.

India has been fortunate enough in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 that the move to play both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel has worked. This is the first time in many years that the team is operating with two left-arm spin-bowling all-rounders in their T20I XI and that too in a big tournament.

Over the years Ravindra Jadeja is getting the nod ahead as the all-rounder in the team and Axar Patel was seen as his backup option. But in the ongoing T20 World 2024, the latter has been better than Jadeja with both bat as well as the ball and is even trusted more by the management.

Ravindra Jadeja has come under the scanner for his performances and is even called the weakest link in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 for the Indian team. The all-rounder has failed to take wickets and even hasn't been at his best with the bat, failing to finish the innings on high.

Stephen Fleming while talking about Ravindra Jadeja claimed that the all-rounder turns up in big games for his team. While calling the CSK player effective, he backed him to come good in the further stage of the tournament. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he explained:

"In some tournaments, he doesn't really feature for a while and then all of a sudden, he'll get a 4/16, 4/20 and score runs with the bat and that's why he is such an effective player in your side."

You've just got to make sure that in terms of an ego point of view, someone doing the same skillset is not having an impact on either of them - Stephen Fleming on Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja

Stephen Fleming further admitted that Axar Patel has been performing well for India and if team management combines them well, it will work well. He further stressed that one cannot count Ravindra Jadeja out as the team needs to be patient with him. He elaborated:

"India has got Axar working away too. You can combine the two and get a pretty good result. You've just got to make sure that in terms of an ego point of view during those middle-overs, having someone doing the same skillset does not having an impact on either of them.

"You've got to make sure the man management is pretty sound. But you can't count Jadeja out. When the conditions are right, the pace that he bowls is spot on, he is gonna cause problems. Sometimes you've just got to wait a little longer and hang tight for your bowlers. Jadeja towards the backend of the tournament."

Both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are likely to feature for India in the semi-final against England. The semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 between India and England is all set to take place on Thursday (27th June) at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.