Ajay Jadeja was really impressed with Akshar Patel’s performance in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia at home but highlighted an area in which he can’t replace the star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian cricket team.
He admitted that the spin all-rounder grabbed the opportunity with both hands in the absence of Jadeja, who is currently recovering from a knee injury, against Australia. Patel was the leading wicket-taker in the T20I series with 8 wickets in three matches against Australia.
The former cricketer further said that Team India had definitely not missed Jadeja with the ball in the recent home series against Australia, and that Akshar could be a replacement for the star all-rounder, as he can also bat, but he couldn’t match the latter’s fielding skills.
Ajay Jadeja told Cricbuzz: “Once Akshar Patel had that first game, the kind of quality that he showed, it looked like he had it. He has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. We all miss Ravindra Jadeja, but nobody is missing him from the bowling point of view. Akshar Patel has added to the bowling attack, he bats well, it's only fielding where he cannot match him.”
Speaking about the biggest positives for Team India from their 2-1 series win over Australia, the former batter said: “When you look now, the stability is there, they are sure of the people that they want and sure of how they want to play. That, for me, is a very important aspect going into the T20 World Cup.”
Jadeja signed off by saying, “All of the question marks have been answered. The stability of the team, in terms of mindset, is the biggest positive to come out of this series.”
