'Axar is never going to play at No. 4': Ex-India star slams Dravid and Co. after flop show vs West Indies in 2nd ODI
The ex-cricekter has slammed Rahul Dravid and Co. after India's flop show against the West Indies in the 2nd ODI.
For the first time since December 2019, two-time world champions West Indies defeated India in a 50-over match on Saturday. After suffering back-to-back nine defeats, West Indies finally returned to winning ways by outclassing India in the second One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series. After Shai Hope and Co. upstaged India in the series decider, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra questioned India's tactics in the 2nd ODI against the West Indies.
With India registering a comfortable win over the hosts in the series opener, the 2nd ODI saw skipper Rohit Sharma and ex-captain Virat Kohli warming the bench for the visitors at Bridgetown. Rahul Dravid and Co. auditioned youngsters and World Cup aspirants in the 2nd ODI. However, India's decision to rest skipper Rohit and run-machine Kohli backfired as the Hardik Pandya-led side lost the match by six wickets.
Without superstars Rohit and Kohli, all-rounder Axar Patel batted at the No.4 position while wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson failed to live up to expectations. Talking about the recently concluded encounter between India and West Indies on his YouTube channel, ex-Indian opener Chopra issued an interesting statement about all-rounder Axar, who had a forgetful outing with the bat and ball.
‘Have a lot of respect and admiration for Axar but…’
"Axar Patel was sent at No. 4 here - how, why, when, where? I have a lot of respect and admiration for Axar but Axar is never going to play at No. 4. What are his chances of playing for India at No. 4 from the World Cup or the Asia Cup perspective? I don't see him playing there in 50-over cricket," Chopra said.
Openers Kishan (55) and Shubman Gill (34) played crucial knocks for India in the 2nd ODI against the West Indies. Middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav perished for 24 off 25 balls while stand-in skipper Pandya departed for 7 off 14 balls. India only managed to post 181 in 40.5 overs as the Rohit-less side lost the match by six wickets.
"I have another question - is it tenable? Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will open and Virat Kohli will play at No. 3 and all three are right-handers. If you want a left-right combination so much, will you play a left-hander by sending one of them down the order? That's not going to happen - so what was Axar Patel doing at No. 4?," Chopra added.