India vs England 2021: He's Aware Of His Strength - Sunil Gavaskar On Axar Patel's Brilliant Spell

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar was highly impressed with Indian left-arm spinner Axar Patel’s six-wicket haul in the first innings of the Pink ball Test at Ahmedabad. Axar Patel ran through the batting order of England who won the toss and managed to put up 112 runs on the scoreboard. This was Axar’s second five-wicket haul and he has bowled in just 3 innings making an excellent start to his Test career.

The oddball turned while most of them went with the arm which caused a lot of doubt in the batsman’s minds. Eventually, most of the England batsmen fell to the trap of playing for the spin instead of covering up for the incoming delivery. Zak Crawley’s fifty was positive for the visitors and will look to capitalize on the youngster’s form going forward.

Gavaskar Lauds Axar’s Consistency

Sunil Gavaskar was in praise of Axar Patel for bowling on the same spot consistently which reaped a lot of rewards. His round-arm action made it even tougher for the right-handers and Gavaskar mentioned that Axar is wary of his strengths. Axar has been the perfect replacement for Ravindra Jadeja who missed out due to his injury and has made a huge difference after coming into the side for the second test.

“He [Axar] recognised the fact that the odd ball is turning which is creating a doubt in the batsman’s mind. So, he just kept bowling the same line and same length. So, that’s the best part of his bowling. He knows that this is his strength and he bowls to his strength,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Sunil Gavaskar Opines Axar Will Add Variety On Gaining Experience

Sunil Gavaskar was happy that Axar stuck to his strengths of hitting the line and lengths for which he was picked up in the Indian team. He added that Axar wasn’t panicked by the big occasion of international cricket and will provide a lot more variety on gaining experience.

Besides, Sunil Gavaskar stressed that Axar needs to keep focussing on his accuracy which is his biggest strength.

“Sometimes bowlers try to change the way they have bowled in first-class cricket which has got them to the Test level. They try and adapt the thing that how they need to bowl at the Test level. And they eventually lose what has brought to the Test team. Axar hasn’t tried to do that.

“With experience, with more Test matches that he plays, he will obviously add a little more variety. Right now, at his second Test, his strength is his accuracy and that is what he needs to keep doing,” Sunil Gavaskar further said.

Axar’s 6 for 38 is the first five-wicket haul on the newly built Motera Stadium with a record capacity.