Akshar Patel must be considered for India vs South Africa 2015 Test series
Akshar Patel must be considered for India vs South Africa 2015 Test series
Akshar Patel picked up four wickets without giving away a single run in India A’s encouraging win over South Africa A in the second unofficial Test at Wayanad. With South Africa’s visit just around the corner, Pramod Ananth believes Akshar’s performance in the both unofficial Tests has put him in contention for a spot in the Indian team for the series.
Ravichandran Ashwin without shadow of a doubt is the best spinner India have at their disposal at the moment. His spot in the team cannot be questioned. Amit Mishra has done enough during his time at Sri Lanka to warrant him place in the team. With spinners getting more out of the tracks in the Indian sub-continent, it will not be surprising if Akshar Patel gets the nod ahead of Harbhajan Singh in the squad, thus making him the third spinner in the squad. Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra: Who were behind their success?
The 21-year old is just at the beginning of his international career and has already played 18 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). He is a wicket-to-wicket bowler, not giving the batsman an opportunity to free his arms. This forces the batsman to play at every delivery, which is good as this increases the chance of dismissing the batsman. The control he shows with the ball is phenomenal. He has a brilliant economy rate well under five in ODIs. He has gone wicketless and over six an over just twice till now. His economy rate has always remained between four and five and more often than not, he delivers when his skipper needs him. Bowling quick burst of overs, without conceding many runs and picking up a wicket in the process is what Akshar gets to do in limited overs and has seldom disappointed. Ashwin has potential to take 600-700 wickets in 100 Tests, opines Muralitharan
Skipper Virat Kohli has made it clear that he prefers 5-man bowling attack. India play a four-Test series against South Africa, with Mohali, Bangalore, Nagpur and Delhi being the venues. Bangalore is the only venue where there green tops have been prepared of late and may not be much of an assistance for spinners. Out of the five best figures at Nagpur, three have been fast bowlers and the other two spinners, which could mean that there is equal assistance for pacers and spinners. India will ensure that all the pitches are as spin-friendly as possible and their spinners exploit the conditions well. The vulnerability of Indian all-rounders
Since spinners play a key role for India in home conditions, Kohli should consider playing three spinners, with Akshar one among them. If one is having a bad day, the other two might help in making up for it. Akshar’s nagging line and length will be the one to watch out for in the series, something he has mastered in the short format of the game. KL Rahul could do Rahul Dravid and help balance the side by keeping wickets for India
Akshar in the recent times is making giant strides in the shorter version of the game and it will not be the worst of ideas to give him a go in Tests too. He is a handy batsman down the order too and that could give India some more depth in their batting.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)