Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz has spiced up the second Test match at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka as he ran through the India top-order, picking three wickets and reducing India to 45 for four in their 145-run chase. After the end of Day 3 in Mirpur, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and ex-cricketer Ajay Jadeja lambasted captain KL Rahul and head coach Rahul Dravid for sending Axar Patel to bat ahead of Virat Kohli.
Shakib Al Hasan struck first as he dismissed KL Rahul before Mehidy outfoxed both Cheteshwar Pujara and Shumban Gill. With India in dire need of stability at the start of the innings, Virat Kohli was expected to walk out and assume his usual No.4 batting role for India. However, it was Axar Patel who was sent ahead, after Pujara's dismissal.
Gavaskar was not at all happy with the move as he felt that it would send a bad message to Kohli, who he hailed as the "best batsman in the world".
"It didn't send a good message to Kohli. He is the best batsman in the world. Unless Kohli himself asked for it, then it's a different matter. We don't know what happened in the changing room. But it's hard to understand. Axar has played well, of course," he told Sony Sports at the end of Day 3.
{{/usCountry}}"It didn't send a good message to Kohli. He is the best batsman in the world. Unless Kohli himself asked for it, then it's a different matter. We don't know what happened in the changing room. But it's hard to understand. Axar has played well, of course," he told Sony Sports at the end of Day 3.
{{/usCountry}}Jadeja, who was part of the Hindi panel on Sony Sports, said, ""He is the world's best player. 15 overs were left. Saba Karim said it could have been because of the left-right combination, which is an obvious thought, but then I feel - did Rishabh Pant take a sleeping pill? I will also say that it is easy for us to say this from here; we don't know if someone was not feeling well."
Kohli walked in a few deliveries later when Gill was dismissed, but failed to make an impact as he was sent back for a score of just 1 run. Meanwhile, Axar fought valiantly to remain unbeaten in 26 off 54.
"Irrespective of left-hander or not, let Rishabh Pant come into bat next tomorrow," Gavaskar said. His point was that even if Axar Patel was still there, it should be Pant who should join him at the crease. Let this left-hand and right-hand experiment stop," Gavaskar added.
Mohammed Siraj later explained the decision to send Axar ahead of Kohli. Speaking to the media at the end of Day 3, he said, "It's up to management. I believe it was due to a left-hand and right-hand combination designed to make things difficult for bowlers."