“I’ve known Axar for a long time, and when I initially arrived in Bombay, he was a young guy in the squad. Ricky Ponting told the ICC Review, “I’ve always known that he has a level of batting ability that, until the last couple of years, he hadn’t really been displaying at the IPL or international level.”
India successfully defended the Border Gavaskar Trophy by defeating Australia in the four-match Test series 2-1. India won the first two Tests, but despite losing the third, they were able to salvage a draw thanks to centuries by Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. With the conclusion of the Test series, both teams have begun preparations for the next three-match ODI series. Players who fared well in the tests and are a part of the ODIs would be expected to do well. The Men in Blue, after the conclusion of the ODI series, will transfer their emphasis to the 16th season of the Indian Premier League which is due to begin on March 31.
Delhi Capitals will be without the services of skipper Rishabh Pant and so David Warner was named the leader, with Axar Patel his deputy. Throughout the past few years, Axar Patel’s performance as an all-rounder in all formats has vastly improved. During the just-finished Test series against Australia, he played a pivotal role and came close to scoring his first Test century. Ricky Ponting, the coach of the Delhi Capitals, was delighted by the 29-year-growth old’s as a potent batter, which he attributed to “minor technique tweaks” made while Patel represented the organization.
“There were a few little adjustments we made to his technique. We simply attempted to give him a little more access to the ball by opening him up a bit. He has always been an excellent offside player. His cover driving and cutting are comparable to everyone else’s. And if anything, he was little too obstructed to score well on the leg side.
Axar is definitely talented enough to bat sixth in an IPL lineup: Ricky Ponting
So far at the IPL, Axar has claimed 101 wickets at a good economy of 7.25 and scored 1135 runs in 122 matches while batting down the order. In the 2022 edition of the IPL, he managed to score 182 runs in 13 matches and picked up six wickets. After the completion of the lucrative tournament, though, Axar has demonstrated his all-round talent for India across all formats.
“I want to get a bit more out of him at the Delhi Capitals this year, that’s for sure. A few times last year we sort of batted him up a little bit higher. I believe he is capable of batting sixth for an IPL squad,” Ricky Ponting continued.
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