Axar Patel’s name in the mix

Hence the selectors had to look at all-rounders who can spin the ball and perhaps Patel’s match-turning effort with the bat against Barbados Tridents in the recent Champions League T20 tilted the balance in his favour ahead of Karn Sharma. The latter was picked for the limited-overs leg in England and features in the T20 squad against West Indies. But the selectors have shown more faith in Patel’s all-round ability for the ODIs.

Lots of ‘ifs’

However, it waits to be seen if Patel can make the graduation from T20 to One-day Internationals, where batsmen have more time to settle down. Also Patel will be lucky if he gets to play considering the fact that Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not often change his tried and tested combination even after a series is in the bag. In this case, India and West Indies have won a match each and with just two games to go there is plenty to play for.

Also there is already Kuldeep Yadav, the chinaman bowler, who is ahead in the queue by virtue of the fact that he was picked in the team for the first three ODIs and has been retained for the final two.

However, Patel has showed in the Champions League T20 that he can bat. Chasing 175 for victory, Kings XI Punjab were in trouble when Patel came at No.8 and turned the game on its head with a nine-ball 23. The way he took charge during a 47-run partnership (19 balls) with David Miller was impressive. As far as his bowling is concerned, he has been enjoying a very successful season. So, here’s a potential candidate for an all-rounder.

Patel had the best economy rate (6.13) among the bowlers —those who’ve played five or more matches — in the last IPL. He also took 17 wickets. In the Champions League T20, he was the second-most successful bowler after Sunil Narine with eight wickets from five matches at an economy rate of 6.15. In the three ODIs he played in Bangladesh, he bowled at a pretty decent economy rate of 5.90. And he’s one bowler who can bowl at the death. The selectors now expect him to contribute with the bat as well. A first-class average of 44.55 augurs well for his confidence.

“We, indeed, have very few all-rounders in Indian cricket at the moment. The selectors must have seen something in Patel. So, he should be backed, especially by the team management,” former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, who also served as the chief selector from 2006 to 2008, told this paper.“At the same time, I hope the committee doesn’t forget Yusuf Pathan and Piyush Chawla. They’re the other options and shouldn’t be removed from the list. Dhawal Kulkarni, too, is no mug with the bat and can be developed into a bowling all-rounder. As for Patel, I wish he gets the opportunity to play. This is international cricket and West Indies are a good limited-overs side. If a young player is picked, he should be thrown in at the deep end. India will have very little chance to experiment after this series,” he added.