Ahead of the upcoming ICC T20I World Cup 2020, the Indian National Cricket Team is looking to test out quite a few players from domestic cricket. In the latest, if the reports ABP News are to believe, the Karnataka all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham and Gujarat’s Axar Patel set to receive a call-up for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies Cricket Team led by Kieron Pollard.
As per the reports on ABP News, Krishnappa Gowtham and Axar Patel are running ahead of the fellow cricketers in the race to seal a spot in the Indian team. Perhaps, it would be the all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who will be making way for Axar Patel while Gowtham might replace Rahul Chahar.
Krishnappa Gowtham is an emerging off-spinner and explosive lower-order batsman from Karnataka. Gowtham grew leaps and bounds to make it to the state team at junior levels and later went on to become the regular figure in all the sides of the Karnataka team at high-level tournaments.
Krishnappa Gowtham finished KPL 2019 with staggering numbers:
All those good performances have raised his bar in the IPL auction. Initially, he was picked up for a surprisingly high price by the Mumbai Indians in 2017. His ability to bowl restrictive off-spin and tonk the ball hard made him a tempting proposition. However, he couldn’t get a game, which witnessed him go into auctions again and this time, Rajasthan Royals bagged him.
Recently, Krishnappa Gowtham Playing for Bellary Tuskers in KPL 2019, scored 134 not out off just 56 balls and also accomplished the bowling figures of 4-0-15-8. And later, delivered the similar match-winning performances for Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which helped them to seal crunch moments. Now, he will play for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2020.
On the other hand, Axar Patel has always been a bowler, who perfectly accommodates this format. Though he is not a wicket-taker, Axar Patel got the goods to bowl economical overs for the team. With his ability to score quick runs with the bat and the ability to restrain the runs, he is the ideal suit for the limited-over formats and is likely to be an asset to the Indian team
According to sources, Krishnappa Gowtham and Axar Patel are dark horses to make it into the T20 squad against West Indies. Maybe at the expense of Krunal Pandya or unplayed Rahul Chahar. #BCCI #IndvWI
— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) November 20, 2019