Asia Cup 2022 Championship: Ravindra Jadeja's absence from the Asia Cup injury gives Axar Patel a golden opportunity
India's had enormous strength in their all-rounder duo of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, but a right knee injury has taken Ravindra Jadeja out of the remaining Asia Cup
Image credit: pia.images.co.uk Right knee injury has taken Ravindra Jadeja out of the remaining Asia CupRavindra Jadeja had a similar injury this year, only in July. He had to miss the whole ODI series against West Indies.
"Ravindra Jadeja sustained a right knee injury and is ruled out of the tournament. He is currently under the supervision of the BCCI medical team," BCCI said in a statement on Friday.
BCCI has quickly announced Axar Patel as the replacement of Ravindra Jadeja for the remaining Asia Cup. Axar Patel has been with team India on various tours for quite a long time and has proved his calibre.
"India is very very lucky to have a like-for-like replacement in Axar Patel. The way he batted in West Indies, and the way he played some crucial knocks. India won't miss the batting of Ravindra Jadeja.", said Wasim Jaffer.
Ravindra Jadeja, without a doubt, is an indispensable part of team India's big tournament squad. In the first match against Pakistan, he anchored the inning coming at the 4th position taking India to win, and in the last game against Honk Kong, he took the wicket of leading run-scorer Babar Hayat. Along with all these, no one can replace his dominance on the ground with his fielding.
Getting his place in a big tournament is simply impossible. Still, after his injury, Axar Patel had a golden opportunity to leave a mark on his career with his performance in Asia Cup.
"We might see Axar bowl in the powerplay, something which he has done for Delhi Capitals before. Especially, bowling to right-handers he is a very good bowler. Even though India will miss Ravindra Jadeja, but saying that Axar Patel is not a bad replacement," said Wasim Jaffer.
India also has their experienced spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the squad. He hasn't got any match so far. It might feel that Ashwin will get the chance, but it isn't likely to happen because of the team's stability.
India will prefer a spinner who can hit straight sixes in death overs. With their attacking gameplay, Axar Patel looks suitable option to replace Ravindra Jadeja.
India will play against their arch-rival Pakistan again tomorrow in the super-4. This match will be even more significant than the first one, as Pakistan will improve their mistakes, and India will look to continue their good performance.
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