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'Don't worry about him being underbowled. He hasn't deserved more bowling': Chappell's savage remark on India star
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell came down hard on the Team India player, who is part of the playing XI in the fourth Test of the series.
Team India will be aiming for a strong finish to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they take on Australia in the fourth and final Test of the series on Thursday. The Rohit Sharma-led side is leading the series 2-1 but faced a setback last week in Indore, as it went down by nine wickets against a spirited Australian team. On a pitch that assisted spinners significantly, Australia exploited the most of the conditions as they ran through the Indian batting order, bowling them out on 109 and 155 in first and second innings respectively.
Steve Smith led the Aussie side in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins, and continues to lead the team in the fourth Test. India, meanwhile, made one change to the XI as Mohammed Shami made a return to the team, replacing Mohammed Siraj. There were speculations over more changes in the XI; particularly over bringing an extra batter in place of Axar Patel. However, the team management retained its faith in Axar for the Ahmedabad Test and former Australia captain Ian Chappell, while being not too surprised with the decision, insisted that Axar needs to put a better foot forward when it comes to bowling.
“I see him playing as a batsman. Don't worry about him being underbowled, he hasn't bowled really well. He really hasn't deserved any more bowling. He's got a very good record at this ground, and maybe, that will give him a lot of confidence,” Chappell said during a pre-match show on ESPNCricinfo.
“But he is in the team to get some wickets, so he's got to start bowling better than he has,” Chappell further said.
Axar, who is playing as a third spinner in the side, has bowled 39 overs across three Tests in the series so far. In comparison, Ravindra Jadeja bowled 32 overs in the first innings of the third Test.
India require a win in the final Test to qualify for the World Test Championship final, that takes place between June 7-11 in London. Australia have already qualified for the title clash, thanks to their win over India in Indore last week.
