Axar Patel during training. (PTI photo) AHMEDABAD: The Indian team management likes to put the team above the players. Whether it was the elevation of Shubman Gill as ODI captain over Rohit Sharma or his eventual axing from the T20 World Cup squad despite being vice-captain, everything was labeled as an effort to wipe out the team’s “superstar culture” and put the needs of the team first.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!It was this mindset that underscored the challenge of benching Axar Patel, India’s designated vice-captain for the T20 World Cup, and playing Washington Sundar instead in the Super 8 match against South Africa.Axar’s rise as an international cricketer started when he resurrected the Indian innings while batting at No. 5 in the final of the last edition against the same opposition. Still, the team management went with the games and brought in Sundar, who had recovered from a rib fracture barely 12 days ago.
T20 World Cup: Ryan ten Doeschate’s press conference after India’s loss against South Africa
“I don’t think it’s that straightforward,” was all assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate could say about the vice-captains’ treatment.Meanwhile, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said, “Axar has played so much cricket that his confidence will not be dented by this move. Like I said, the coach and the captain must have told him clearly why they took such a call.”It is puzzling why Washington’s off-spin was perceived to be stronger against the three left-handers in the South African batting order. “We watched the matches more in the middle order. In hindsight, it seems like the right decision (to play Axar), but at that point we felt we needed Rinka as the eighth batsman,” Doeschate said. “Axar only plays occasionally in the Powerplay, but we felt we got Washy to the point where he found a way to be effective there,” he added.“Now both De Kock and Ricketon have been dismissed by Bumrah and therefore Washy didn’t have to bowl more than two overs (in the game). The actual plan was to bowl Washy in the Powerplay but that may change depending on the match situation,” Kotak said.Interestingly, Washington only got two overs even though Miller was strong. Scratch the surface and it turns out that Axar has a good record of bowling with his flat left arm against left-handers. Interestingly, Washington was not even considered for the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates last September. That South Africa stuck with their veteran left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj against six strong left-arm Indian batsmen shows a flaw in the thought process of the Indian team management.Bowling games aside, Doeschate offered a vague answer to the question of why Washington was sent to No. 5 with a career average of 16 and a 130 strikeout rate while the asking rate shot above 10 runs per rep. “If Axar was playing, we would use him in that position as we look to expand our strike force,” Doeschate said. Doschate insisted there was no panic in the camp. As India enter the business end of the tournament, there needs to be more clarity.
