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‘One of the best…’: R Ashwin questions selectors on Axar Patel being ignored from India’s Test setup
Since Axar Patel did not get a chance to play against West Indies in the recently-concluded Test series, R Ashwin questioned the selectors for this move.
Last Updated on - October 15, 2025 11:09 PM IST
India recently had a successful outing at home against West Indies in a two-match Test series. Though the team management showed faith in Nitish Kumar Reddy as the allrounder, Nitish bowled only 4 overs throughout the series. It is also worth noting that Reddy also batted in one innings as well.
Since the team management decided to take Nitish Kumar Reddy even though Axar Patel was in the squad, former superstar spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned this move to give Reddy the chance to play, especially since Axar much more suits the allrounder role.
“If this is Nitish Reddy’s role, I feel you can play a specialist batter or a bowler. You could play Axar Patel. What less has he done? Axar Patel has been a match-winner both with the ball and the bat over the last few years. When does Nitish Reddy come into play? I am not saying you play an extra bowler; I am saying you play a specialist batter only. The reason why I talk about Axar Patel is because Axar has done much better than Nitish in this role,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’.
“Axar has done so well in batting. He has batted really well and I think Axar Patel has one of the best defences against spin. When does Nitish Reddy come in? If you have to play one bowler between (Mohammed) Siraj and (Jasprit) Bumrah and you are playing on a slightly turning wicket, a slow, low surface, then Nitish Reddy can become your second seamer and a batter. You will get batting depth. Otherwise, I don’t see the point,” Ashwin added.
While the Indian management has been keeping Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as the spinners, Ashwin believes that Axar Patel can be given the chance to play in place of Nitish Reddy when wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant marks his return to action after returning from his injury.
“When Rishabh Pant is back, you can play Axar Patel instead of Nitish Reddy. And bring Nitish Reddy in if you are playing only one fast bowler. That gives you batting balance and spin balance. If you feel you have too many spinners, then leave Axar out and play Dhruv Jurel as a specialist batsman. I think Nitish is a fine batter, but I feel there could be a little bit more role definition there,” Ashwin concluded.