IND vs NZ 2026: 'Axar Patel way ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, don't know why he's not in ODI squad' - Former India batter

Mohammad Kaif said he was surprised not to see Axar Patel in India's squad for the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand. The former Indian cricketer opined that Axar is a better all-rounder than Ravindra Jadeja in white-ball cricket.

In the first two ODIs, Jadeja registered scores of 4 and 27 and went wicketless with the ball. Kaif also failed to understand why seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was being backed by the team management against the New Zealand batters, who are more susceptible to spinners.

"If you have to choose one of the two, Axar is way ahead of Jadeja, even in one-day cricket. His strike rate, batting ability and ability to hit sixes — Jadeja does not have that. We have seen this in the IPL as well. In white-ball cricket, Axar is way ahead in batting. Even in bowling, he is ahead. Axar can bowl in the powerplay as well. I do not know why he is not even in the squad. Why are you backing Reddy against New Zealand, who are weak against spin? Anyway, you already have Arshdeep sitting out, so there are four pacers already," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

In his last five ODIs, Jadeja has only picked up one wicket, averaging a mind-boggling 257 with the ball while giving away runs at an economy rate of 6.11. With the bat, he has aggregated 87 runs from four innings. Meanwhile, Axar had a memorable outing as an all-rounder during his last series in Australia, scoring 75 runs from two innings at an average of 37.50 and accounting for three scalps at an impressive economy rate of 4.45.

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Kaif suggested that the Men in Blue should consider playing Axar and Jadeja together in the ODI setup instead of persisting with Nitish, as it would provide more balance to the side.

“I want Jadeja and Axar to play together. If Axar was there in the last game instead of Reddy, there would have been more balance. There is a difference in the bowling styles of Jadeja and Axar. People say both are left-arm spinners — they are — but both have different styles of bowling. Jadeja comes on after the powerplay. Axar can take the new ball. He is the best bowler with the new ball. He took wickets with the new ball in the Champions Trophy as well," he added.