3 reasons why India must play Axar Patel in 2nd Test vs West Indies
Team India usually don't make changes to a set, winning strategy despite sometimes paying the price of being too rigid.
For example, India enjoyed success with an attack of four fast bowlers plus Ravindra Jadeja in England in 2021 but stuck to it and lost when Ravichandran Ashwin was needed instead of a pacer in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia last month.
The second Test against West Indies at Queen's Park Oval gives them the right opportunity to go horses for courses. Yes, they won by a massive margin of an innings and 141 runs in the first Test but to continue that dominance or even go a step better, they should consider bringing in left-arm spinner Axar Patel.
Here's why:
#3 Queen's Park Oval is historically spinners-friendly
India's top wicket-taking left-arm spinner in West Indies, Bishan Singh Bedi picked up most of his wickets at Queen's Park Oval - 19 out of his 33. He averaged at least 35 at the three other venues he bowled at in the Caribbean but here, he picked up a wicket for every 28.16 runs. Bedi's only fifer also came at the venue.
India's best spinner in West Indies, Anil Kumble's second fifer here also came at Queen's Park Oval. S Venkataraghavan, India's second-highest wicket-taking spinner in West Indies, took 19 out of his 39 wickets in the Caribbean at the venue, with his only five-wicket haul coming here as well.
The ground is by all means a spin haven and Rohit Sharma should look to take advantage of it by going picking a lineup he would otherwise pick for Indian conditions: Ashwin, Jadeja, Patel, Mohammed Siraj, and Jaydev Unadkat.
#2 Shardul Thakur was barely used in the first Test
It might feel harsh on Shardul Thakur to drop him after just one Test. But that's what successful teams do: pick tactics first and players second, according to those tactics. That's what Australia did before the second Ashes 2023 Test and England did before the third. Players simply understand that it's tactics, not distrust.
Shardul Thakur bowled just seven overs in the first innings, didn't get to bat, and then didn't bowl at all in the second innings. He was there mostly as a fielder. Instead of doing that, the visitors can trust Axar Patel for a surface equally, if not more, friendly for spin bowling than Dominica and use all three spinners in tandem.
Even in the first Test 15 of the 20 wickets fell to spin, and every West Indian batter, except Alick Athanaze, to read Ashwin and Jadeja.
#1 Axar Patel has been in brilliant form for India
Replacing Axar with Thakur will be an upgrade for spin-friendly conditions in both batting and bowling because the former has been in superb form of late.
In the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, although he bowled in the shadow of Jadeja and Ashwin and didn't pick a lot of wickets, Axar was the third-highest run-scorer with 264 runs at an average of 88.00.
He'll do what Thakur does with the bat and will add more value on the bowling front in favorable conditions, allowing the visitors to go for the kill. With Ashwin and Jadeja nearing the final phases of their career, it will also be a good opportunity to try the 29-year-old in overseas conditions.