AHMEDABAD: The Indian team management likes to put the team above the player. Be it Shubman Gill’s ascension as ODI captain over Rohit Sharma or his eventual axing from the T20 World Cup team despite being the vice-captain, it was all branded as an endeavour to wipe out the team’s ‘superstar culture’ and put the team’s needs first. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
That very line of thinking underlined the call to bench
Axar Patel, India’s designated vice-captain for the T20 World Cup, and play Washington Sundar in his place for the Super 8 match against South Africa.
Axar’s surge as an international cricketer started when he resurrected India’s innings while batting at No. 5 in the last edition’s final against the same opposition. Yet, the team management went by match-ups and brought in Sundar, who recovered from a rib fracture barely 12 days ago.
“I don’t think it’s as straightforward as that,” was all assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate could say about the treatment meted out to the vice-captains.
Meanwhile, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said, “Axar has played so much cricket that his confidence won’t be dented because of this move. As I said, coach and captain must have clearly told him why they took such a call.”
It’s perplexing why Washington’s off-spin was perceived to be more potent against the three left-handers in South Africa’s batting order.
“We were kind of looking at match-ups more in the middle order. In hindsight it looks like the right decision (to play Axar), but at the time we felt we needed Rinku as an eighth batter,” Doeschate said. “Axar only occasionally bowls in the Powerplay but we felt that we have got Washy to a point where he’s found a way of being effective there,” he added.
“Now both De Kock and Ricketon were dismissed by Bumrah and hence Washy wasn’t required to bowl more than two overs (in the game).
The actual plan was to bowl Washy inside the Powerplay but that, you know, can change as per match situation,” Kotak said.
Interestingly, Washington was bowled for just two overs even when Miller was going strong.
Scratch the surface and it will emerge that Axar has a good record bowling his flattish left-arm spin against left-handers. Interestingly, Washington was not even considered for the Asia Cup on spin-friendly pitches in UAE last Sept.
That South Africa stuck with their experienced left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj against six powerful left-handed Indian batters shows up the error in the Indian team management’s thought process.
The bowling match-ups aside, Doeschate offered a vague response to a query on why Washington was sent at No. 5 with a career average of 16 and strike-rate of 130 while the asking rate had shot above 10 runs per over.
“Had Axar played, we would have used him at that position because we try to extend our power hitting,” Doeschate said. Doeschate insisted there was no panic in the camp. However, as India enter the business end of the tournament, there needs to be more clarity.
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