"You do not have to look like a Warne" - Murali Kartik picks between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja amid Asia Cup 2025

Former India cricketer Murali Kartik picked between all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja amid the Asia Cup 2025. Axar is a part of the Indian team in the ongoing tournament.

Murali Kartik gave Axar Patel the edge over Jadeja in T20 cricket. While both players are left-arm spinners with similar skillsets, he reckoned that Jadeja became a better Test bowler over time compared to white-ball cricket.

He lauded Axar for having worked on his skills. Kartik stated that the 31-year-old edged Jadeja in T20 bowling on his ability to be a step ahead of the batters and outsmart them.

"It is a very tough one. Similar skilled players. I would give Axar an edge over Jadeja and I am being honest. When Jadeja came into T20 cricket, he was the rockstar. After that, he became a better Test bowler and I think somewhere down the line, him in white-ball cricket changed. But just the way Axar has gone about working his T20 skills, remember Jadeja has got more skills as a left-arm spinner, but the way Axar has worked on his lengths, reading the batters, working his angles, being ahead and outsmarting the batter, that is where its Axar," he said on Cricbuzz. "It is not about the skills that you have. You do not have to look like a Warne but you have to think like him as well. That is where Axar has been brilliant and possibly edged Jadeja, purely in T20 bowling. His batting has come up leaps and bounds," he added.

India are playing Pakistan in their first Super Fours game of the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, September 21. Batting first, Pakistan scored 171/5 from 20 overs. Axar Patel bowled just one over in the innings, conceding eight runs without a wicket. He has picked up three scalps from four matches in the tournament so far.

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What are Axar Patel's T20I numbers?

Axar Patel made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2015. He had a cracking start and returned figures of 3/17 from four overs, also winning the 'Player of the Match' award.

The left-arm spinner has bagged 74 wickets from as many T20Is so far in his career. These scalps have come at an average of 21.70, an economy rate of 7.19, and a strike-rate of 18, with best figures of 3/9.

He played a key role in India's triumph during the 2024 T20 World Cup. From eight matches, Axar bagged nine wickets at an average of 19.22 and an economy rate of 7.86.

With the bat, Axar has scored 561 runs from 45 innings at a strike-rate of 141.30 with a half-century.

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Edited by Rishab Vm