IND vs AUS 2022: "Nobody is missing him from the bowling point of view" - Ajay Jadeja compares Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja

Former cricketer Ajay Jadeja believes Axar Patel has added quality to the Indian bowling unit after replacing Ravindra Jadeja as the second-choice spinner. Axar was adjudged the Player of the Series for his eight wickets at an economy of 6.3 across the three contests.

The Gujarat-born all-rounder has largely been deemed a backup prospect across all formats. However, with fellow left-arm all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja being ruled out for a significant period of time due to a knee injury, Axar was slotted into the playing XI.

He played India's last Super 4 contest against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022 and retained his place for the home series against Australia.

3⃣ Matches
8⃣ Wickets

For his superb bowling performance, @akshar2026 wins the Player of the Series award. 👌 👌

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Noting that Axar lags behind Ravindra Jadeja only when it comes to fielding, Ajay Jadeja said on Cricbuzz:

"Once Axar 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. Axar Patel has added to the bowling attack, he bats well, it's only fielding where he cannot match him."

Axar has played more T20Is than Ravindra Jadeja this year, with the latter struggling with injuries. Axar has claimed 16 wickets at an average of 18.94 while his compatriot has only managed to scalp five wickets at an average of 40.

"All of the question marks have been answered" - Ajay Jadeja on Team India's process heading into the T20 World Cup 2022

The Men in Blue primarily focused on experimentation in terms of personnel and team combination for the majority of the year, keeping the T20 World Cup 2022 in mind.

Now that the tournament is closer than ever and with the squads being announced as well, the management had the task of penciling down the first-choice playing XI.

𝐂. 𝐇. 𝐀. 𝐌. 𝐏. 𝐈. 𝐎. 𝐍. 𝐒 🏆

#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS | @mastercardindia https://t.co/5yk3bRnHiV

Opining that Team India have come out of this series with a more stable mindset in terms of approach and execution, Ajay Jadeja 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 World Cup. 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."

India still have a handful of matches to assess themselves before heading to T20 World Cup in Australia next month. Rohit Sharma's side are scheduled to face South Africa in a three-match T20I series, beginning on Wednesday, September 28.

Who is the better all-rounder between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja? Let us know what you think.