'India have a 2-1 lead because of him': Former BCCI selector makes passionate argument for star ahead of 4th BGT Test

India go into the fourth Test with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the line.

India go into the all-important fourth Test against Australia with the series on the line. While India had won the first two matches on a canter, the visitors came back strong in the third Test and halved the hosts' lead. With the victory in the third Test, Australia confirmed a spot for themselves in the final of the World Test Championship and India could do the same if they win the fourth, which starts on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

India's batting has been held up by a number of rear guard acts in the series (PTI)

There has been speculation as to whether India will make changes to the squad that played the third Test after their nine-wicket loss in Indore. Among those, surprisingly, are murmurs of Axar Patel getting replaced by Kuldeep Yadav. However, former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim has stated that India should not drop Axar considering Ahmedabad is his home ground and his contributions with the bat have been invaluable.

"India should continue playing Axar Patel," Karim explained during a discussion on India News Sports. "India have a 2-1 lead in the series because Axar has batted really well. He hasn't had enough opportunities with the ball, as Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, the two prime spinners, have bowled most of the overs.

"He doesn't deserve to sit out. Since Ahmedabad is his home ground, he knows the dimensions of the ground and the conditions very well."

Axar has taken just one wicket all series in the 39 overs he has bowled accross the five Australian innings. However, he has broken new ground in his Test career with the bat. The 29-year-old is the second highest run scorer in the series, only behind India captain Rohit Sharma who had scored a century in the first Test. Axar has scored 185 runs in four innings at an average of 92.50 which includes two half centuries and a highest score of 84.

That score came in his knock in the first Test in Nagpur where he and Ravindra Jadeja knocked the wind out of Australia's sails with an 88-run partnership for the eighth wicket. The stand helped India reach 400 after Australia had been all out for just 177 runs batting first. The visitors eventually collapsed to 91 and thus handed India a victory by an innings and 132 runs.

Axar led another rearguard effort in the first Indian innings of the second Test, scoring 74 off 115 balls to take India's score to 262 and ensuring that Australia had just a one-run lead going into their second innings. The visitors looked set to have a three-figure lead otherwise and they eventually lost the match by six wickets.