"Why are you playing him?" - Aakash Chopra questions Hardik Pandya for not bowling Axar Patel in 2nd India vs West Indies T20I
Aakash Chopra has criticized Hardik Pandya for not bowling Axar Patel in the second T20I between India and the West Indies.
The Men in Blue set the Windies a 153-run target in the second game of the five-match series in Guyana on Sunday, August 6. Their bowlers failed to defend the score as the hosts registered a narrow two-wicket win with seven deliveries to spare.
While reflecting on India's defeat in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned Pandya for not using Axar with the ball at all. He said:
"Axar Patel wasn't given a single over. My question is that if Axar Patel is not going to bowl because you have a left-hander in front of him, then Kyle Mayers comes at the start, then comes Nicholas Pooran, then Shimron Hetmyer and Akeal Hosein in the end, then he will not bowl a single over."
The former Indian opener added:
"Why are you playing him if he is not going to bowl? You didn't use the sixth bowler at all. A left-armer can bowl against a left-hander. Akeal Hosein showed that by doing it against Tilak Varma and dismissed him as well, but we didn't get Axar to bowl."
Just like the first game, India went into the second T20I with three spinners and two seamers, with Pandya as the sixth bowling option. However, while Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal bowled seven overs between them, with the latter also not used effectively, Axar wasn't tried at all.
"Axar Patel is not playing as a batter" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Axar Patel has been underbowled in all three games he has played in the white-ball leg of the tour. He observed:
"We gave Axar only two overs in the last match as well and not a single over in this match. He was given two overs in ODIs. Axar Patel is not playing as a batter. There were errors of course."
While praising Hardik Pandya for bowling a penetrative spell, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that Axar not being given a bowl was not understandable. He stated:
"Hardik Pandya did pick up three wickets for sure, they were important. He picked up two wickets in the first over itself - very, very important. Then Rovman Powell was batting very well. You dismissed him as well. You did your job but Axar not bowling a single over - it cannot be digested slightly."
Pandya registered figures of 3/35 in his four-over spell. Yuzvendra Chahal (2/19) was the second-most successful Indian bowler on the day. However, he couldn't complete his quota as he was held back for the 20th over, by which time the game had already been settled.