India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was ruled out of the Asia Cup on Friday due to a knee injury, was replaced by Axar Patel ahead of the Super 4 match against Pakistan.
FOLLOW | IND VS PAK ASIA CUP 2022 SUPER 4 LIVE SCORE
Axar, who also bowls left-arm spin and bats left-handed, could be looked as a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja ahead of the India versus Pakistan clash on Sunday. While Jadeja has more experience behind him, both all-rounders are canny spinners with similar stats in the shortest format. Jadeja has 51 T20I wickets in 64 matches at an economy of 7.07, while Axar goes at 7.33 runs an over and has picked 21 wickets in 25 matches. To add to the similarity of their roles, Jadeja and Axar average 28.49 and 27.19 with the ball, respectively.
Axar can also fill in for Jadeja with the bat with his strike rate of 137.38 but is more accustomed to batting lower down in the order. He has never batted higher than number six in T20Is, and if called upon to bat higher up the order - Jadeja was promoted to No. 4 against Pakistan - Axar might find himself in unfamiliar territory.
In another change to the team composition on Sunday, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya will return to the XI, probably in place of pacer Avesh Khan, who is out of the fixture due to fever. Hardik was rested for the game against Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Comments
SHARE