India vs West Indies: Axar Patel can be utilised in a better way, says Aakash Chopra

Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has called for better utilisation of left-arm spinner Axar Patel by the Indian team in the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies.

Team India finds itself in choppy waters for the first time in their tour of the Caribbean and the United States after conceding a 0-2 lead to the Windies with narrow defeats in Tarouba and in Guyana.

As a result of the losses, the Hardik Pandya-led visitors face a must-win scenario in the third T20I, which takes place on Tuesday and will be the second consecutive match taking place at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana before the series heads to Lauderhill in Florida, USA.

While there are a number of areas of concern for the Men in Blue after their performances in the first two games, former India opener Chopra feels they need to focus on the spin department and give more overs to Axar, who is seen as a direct replacement for senior spinner Ravindra Jadeja and is quite a handy batter down the order.

“Hardik Pandya will also have a responsibility to make runs himself and stay on the crease till the very end so that you have enough runs on the board which can be defended,” Chopra said on Jio Cinema.

“And while I speak of bowling, I am astonished as Axar (Patel) isn’t being utilised, because if you are playing a left-arm spinner and think you won’t bowl him against a lefty, so you will get (Kyle) Mayers in the beginning, then Nicholas Pooran and then (Shimron) Hetmyer and then Akeal Hossein, so you can’t make him play the match.

“I feel Axar can be utilised in a better way,” added Chopra.

Chopra however, felt there was no need to tinker with the opening combination of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, which has failed to get India off to a solid start for two games in a row now.

“See, the question is big and is tempting also because if Ishan (Kishan) plays, he plays as the wicketkeeper-batter and is a left-hander. Also, you have Yashasvi who is a left-hander and can open, and you also have Sanju (Samson) as a keeper, who is available for selection.

“There is a thought, but I will still say that if you have given someone a chance to play, you should give them three matches at least so that you can arrive at a decision. I feel for one more match, I will not change the opening pair of Ishan and Shubman Gill,” added Chopra.

India had earlier won the two-Test series 1-0 thanks to their commanding victory in the tour opener at Roseau, Dominica, before clinching the ODI series 2-1 with a 200-run thrashing of the Men in Maroon in the decider in Tarouba.