With the Men in Blues set to prepare for a five-match T20I series on England’s tour of India 2025, the all-rounder Axar Patel has spilled words hinting at the side’s middle order.
Axar Patel, the newly appointed vice-captain in the format has hinted on the middle order during the press conference. India used well Axar Patel with his all-rounder skills over the years where he has made lots of improvements with the bat.
Having an average of 21.26 in T20s till the end of 2022, he has upped his performance significantly averaging 30.32 and improved a strike rate of 145.62 since the start of 2023.
He has scored six half-centuries in these last two years in various positions in the batting lineup. Along with him, India has used various all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Nitish Reddy, and Washington Sundar and produced better results.
Batting-wise, it’s not just with me, but we spoke in 2023-24 itself that the openers are fixed, but everyone from Nos. 3 to 7 have been told that they can come into bat anytime, in any situation. It is not just that one batter will bat at a particular position,” told Axar Patel.
“Our middle order will come to bat depending on the match situation, what kind of bowlers are bowling at the time, which match-up works well.
“We’ve spoken about that, how we can all be floaters, be it coming in early or obviously finishing. This is not just for me, but for everyone from No. 3 and below, especially if they are in good touch in the nets.”
“We will adjust accordingly. In T20Is, how you use your batters is so crucial, so this is an important factor in batting.”
“It has just been a day, but as part of the leadership group there is an extra responsibility,” Axar said.
“The T20I side is settled, so there’s not much pressure, but there are small decisions that need making and during the game I need to work closely with Suryakumar.
“As part of the leadership group, you have to learn to take harsh decisions. We have spoken about sharing our genuine opinions and that will help build trust in this group.
“The T20I format is such that it is so fast that you have to make decisions quickly, so the larger conversations [with the coaches] is about how to do that.”
With the Champions Trophy approaching, India will be focussing on the ODI format and will a play three match series against England before the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.
The first match of the T20I Series will be played on January 22 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
