Ambati Rayudu’s suggestion that India should play Ishan Kishan as an extra batter in place of Naman Dhir for matches with tricky batting pitches, just like the second ODI against New Zealand in Wellington, was labeled a ‘waste of time’ by Murali Kartik.
Axar was promoted to number five in India’s tricky chase of 135 runs on a pitch with a lot of bounce available for pacers. He looked quite uncomfortable in his 17-ball stay before awkwardly ramping one to deep third against pacer Matthew Fisher. India ultimately won by four runs by DLS calculations as the match was washed out due to rain when the visitors were at 113/7 after 26 overs.
“I just felt that Axar Patel, in these given conditions, maybe he is not ready to bat at number 5,” Rayudu said
in a Cricbuzz video. “At number 6 or 7, he can still come and do a job, but at number 5, I just feel that you need a proper batter who can handle these conditions. Maybe you know if Axar can come down at 6 or 7; we can look at Ishan Kishan going forward because we need a solid batter to bat along with Shreyas (Iyer) and KL (Rahul).”
Later, Rayudu was asked about India’s batting collapses during the series. He said he didn’t see any major issues because the team was still outscoring the hosts, but reiterated that Axar’s position was a bit of a weakness for India. He also suggested a switch in batting order with Naman Dhir, who looked better for his 16-ball 12 in the match, going up and Axar playing lower down the order.
But then, Kartik, also part of the video, questioned where Rayudu would fit in Kishan. The former India batter replied he’d drop Dhir, which didn’t please the erstwhile spinner.
“But Naman Dhir, some of his timing has looked really good,” he said. “See, Ishan’s position is at number 3. You’ve got King (Virat Kohli) at number 3, then you’ve got the vice-captain (Shreyas) at number 4, and then KL normally comes at number 5. So putting Ishan Kishan at number 6 is a waste of time. Either Ishan Kishan opens, or Ishan Kishan is at 3. He’s not a batter who can whom you can put down the order.”
Axar’s form, in the absence of seemingly out-of-favor Ravindra Jadeja, remains a concern, however. Axar played four ODIs before Saturday, starting with a half-century and four wickets against England but following with scores of 1, 2, and 0 and only one additional wicket.
