Former India player Suresh Raina believes Axar Patel has already sealed his place in India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Axar registered figures of 2/23 in his four overs spell as India restricted Afghanistan to 158/5 in the first T20I in Mohali on Thursday, January 11. India then chased down the below-par target with six wickets and 15 balls to spare to make a winning start in the three-match series as well.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Raina said: “He (Axar) bowls in the powerplay. He has done well whenever he has batted. (Pragyan) Ojha can tell better about his trajectory as he is himself a left-arm spinner. He varies his pace, the way he dismissed (Rahmanullah) Gurbaz. I feel his ticket is confirmed.”

The former India all-rounder further added: “It needs to be seen how much they are thinking about Jadeja. He has definitely been rested because there are five Test matches against England. Jadeja is an impact player. It will depend a lot on the IPL performance, the rhythm you are in, and the self-confidence you have.”

Axar Patel has claimed 47 wickets in 49 T20I innings at an economy rate of 7.34. Jadeja has scalped 53 dismissals in 64 T20I innings at an economy rate of 7.10. Meanwhile, Pragyan Ojha said that Axar Patel should be a part of India’s T20 World Cup squad.

“He should be kept. When a bowler or an all-rounder remains in and out of the team and performs whenever given a chance, it means his game-reading sense is top-class, his game awareness is always intact. It’s not easy to be in another player’s shadow. We repeatedly talk about Ravindra Jadeja but Axar Patel has created an impact whenever given a chance both in batting and bowling, and he is a good fielder as well. He fields at point, just like Ravindra Jadeja,” he concluded.