'Axar Patel's Ticket is Confirmed': Suresh Raina Backs All-rounder to be Part of India's T20 World Cup Squad

Veteran India batter Suresh Raina feels that Axar Patel’s place in India’s T20 World Cup is fixed considering his form with both ball and bat in recent times. Axar has become a mainstay in the Indian team for the past couple of years and performed consistently well. The all-rounder also was the pick of the bowler in the first T20I between India and Afghanistan where he picked two wickets for just 21 runs in his quota of four overs.

The 29-year-old missed out on the ODI World Cup squad after sustaining a last-minute injury but Raina feels he is a certainty for India’s T20 World Cup which will be played in June this year.

“He (Axar) bowls in the powerplay. He has done well whenever he has batted. (Pragyan) Ojha can tell better about his trajectory as he is himself a left-arm spinner. He varies his pace, the way he dismissed (Rahmanullah) Gurbaz. I feel his ticket is confirmed,” Raina said on Jio Cinema.

Axar will face tough competition against Ravindra Jadeja to make it into the T20 WC team and Raina suggested that the CSK all-rounder’s performance in IPL 2024 will play a key role in squad selection.

“It needs to be seen how much they are thinking about Jadeja. He has definitely been rested because there are five Test matches against England. Jadeja is an impact player. It will depend a lot on the IPL performance, the rhythm you are in, and the self-confidence you have,” Raina added.

Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha also heaped praise on Patel and said his game-reading sense is top-class.

“He should be kept. When a bowler or an all-rounder remains in and out of the team and performs whenever given a chance, it means his game-reading sense is top-class, his game awareness is always intact,” he added.

Ojha pointed out Axar’s consistent show with bat and ball whenever he gets the chance despite being playing in Jadeja’s shadows.

“It’s not easy to be in another player’s shadow. We repeatedly talk about Ravindra Jadeja but Axar Patel has created an impact whenever given a chance both in batting and bowling, and he is a good fielder as well. He fields at point, just like Ravindra Jadeja,” Ojha said.