Hodge: Axar promoted to ‘clear the fence straight away’

Brad Hodge, the Kings XI Punjab coach, clarified why Axar Patel was sent ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the vital game against Mumbai Indians.

Brad Hodge... “Axar Patel has struck the ball well in last three games and was probably more likely in our opinion to clear the fence straight away.”

Many have questioned the logic of Kings XI Punjab sending Axar Patel ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the end overs of the vital game against Mumbai Indians.

It was a match that Kings XI eventually lost by a whisker.

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Answering the vexing question here on Saturday, Kings XI coach Brad Hodge said, “The logic is that Aaron Finch and K. L. Rahul batted for a lot longer than we anticipated and Yuvraj’s role is to finish the innings.”

Effective striker

He elaborated, “If he [Yuvraj] goes and gets only that amount of time to bat, then there is not much he can do the way [his] game’s structured. Axar Patel has struck the ball well in last three games and was probably more likely in our opinion to clear the fence straight away.”

Asked whether Yuvraj needed some time to get himself in, Hodge replied, “I think we have seen that’s the way he likes to structure his innings.”