IND vs AUS 2023: Axar Patel’s angle makes him hard to line up, says Shane Watson

Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson believes Axar Patel’s angle makes him hard to line up. Patel has got off to a dream start in his young Test career and he is going to hold the key for India in the upcoming Test series against Australia.

The left-arm orthodox spinner is known to be accurate in his line and length and he keeps it tight at the stumps, which is his strength. Patel has scalped 47 wickets in eight Test matches at an impressive average of 14.3 and he could breathe down the neck of the Australian batters along with Ravichandran Ashwin.

Watson feels it is not easy to score runs against Axar Patel because of his tight angle at the crease.

“Axar’s angle is what makes him really hard to line up,” Watson told ESPNcricinfo. “I didn’t face him in Test cricket but I always found him really difficult to play even in T20 cricket because of his release point.

“He’s not low round arm, but he’s round arm and he bowls from quite wide on the crease, and with the angle that the ball comes in I was never able to really line it up. And then if the ball is turning it just seems like the ball is turning a lot more because of the angle.”

Watson went on to add that Patel bowls from a wider angle and thus he is different from Ravindra Jadeja, who is all set to make his return.

“It’s different to Jadeja because Jadeja is normally a bit closer to the stumps and he doesn’t create as much angle with the ball coming into the right-hander from his release point,” the former cricketer said.

“Axar is at the stumps all the time. It’s going to be pretty challenging. He’s a fair bit taller and his release point is still pretty high. But you don’t feel like his bounce is a threat as much because he does get balls to skid through.

“The guys playing are going to have to get used to that angle and find a way to be able to line that up. Once the guys line it up they’ll be okay, but it can take a bit of time to work that out,” Watson added.

Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja recently picked seven wickets against Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy and he has cleared his fitness for the opening Test. However, it will be a toss-up between the two left-handed spinners for the first Test match, which will begin in Nagpur on Thursday.