India Coach Explains Choosing Washington Sundar Over Axar Patel

India defended the decision to leave out Axar Patel after questions were raised following their heavy loss to South Africa.

Axar Patel had been rested for the earlier match against the Netherlands to give Washington Sundar a chance in a low-stakes fixture. India had waited patiently for Washington to regain full fitness and had resisted naming a replacement.

Axar’s absence became a major talking point after India’s defeat, especially during the post-match press conference with assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate. He addressed tough questions directly, including whether the team management had effectively told their vice-captain he was not tactically suited for the game.

“I don’t think it’s as straightforward as that,” ten Doeschate said. “In our analysis, we felt the biggest threats were going to be Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton and David Miller. When you can only pick one of the two options, we leaned towards someone who could bowl in the powerplay. Axar can bowl in the powerplay occasionally, of course. But we feel we’ve got Washington to a point where he’s found a way to be effective in that phase.”

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Interestingly, India did not use Washington in the powerplay as planned. Instead, they opened with Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Varun Chakravarthy. This raised further questions about the team’s strategy.

“But the strategy was built around that initial assessment,” ten Doeschate explained. “In a tournament like this, you want – and expect – players to understand that every decision is made with the best intentions: to pick the strongest XI for that particular game. I hope Axar sees it in that spirit as well.”

Not A Reflection On Axar Patel’s Ability

He stressed that the call was not a reflection of Axar’s ability. “A key part of today’s strategy was how well he [Washington] has bowled in the powerplay in T20 cricket,” he said. “The idea was to go in with three frontline bowlers plus Washington, with two others sharing the fifth-bowler’s role. Winning the powerplay was going to be crucial. We had envisaged Washington bowling two overs up front, not necessarily being 30 for 3. That early position then gives you flexibility with the bat as well.

”In hindsight, you could argue that leaving out a batter and playing an extra frontline bowler might have been the right call. But when you’re making decisions in real time, we felt we needed Rinku as, effectively, an eighth batting option. That was the thinking behind the combination.

“It’s certainly not a reflection on Axar – his leadership and importance to the team are unquestioned. But this is the challenge we face almost every week: fitting 11 players into a squad of 15. It’s not easy, and we have to make sure we get it right for the next two Super Eight games. “On balance, given that we expected most of the threat to come from left-handers, and that we wanted the extra batter, it came down to a straight choice between Washington and Axar. And we went with Washington.”