Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has hinted at the return of spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the mix very soon and said he is happy with the way the Indian spin-bowling all-rounder's department is shaping up. Dravid was speaking at the post-match press conference after India's 16-run loss in the second T20I against Sri Lanka here on Thursday. The left-arm spinner is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a knee injury suffered last year.
"I think in our spin bowling all-rounder's slot our stocks are pretty good at the moment," Dravid said. "Shahbaz (Ahmed) was also part of the squad and considering that Washington (Sundar) is there and then Jadeja as well so we are happy with that," he added.
Amazing Axar Patel
With Axar Patel playing his role to perfection on Thursday, taking two wickets in an economical spell and also scoring a swashbuckling 65 off just 31 deliveries, the coach said it had given him quite a few options in that area. "I think in T20 cricket, whenever he has got the opportunity, he's done really well so, that's really a good sign for us, people like him, people like Washi not getting a game, he's batting really well and obviously Jadeja coming back (soon) as well gives us nice little (options) in that spin-bowling all-rounder area."
Quality player
With Axar trading more in sixes than fours, Dravid also commended the all-rounder's batting. Axar smashed six maximums and three boundaries and scored at a strike rate of nearly 210 to keep India in the game till the time he was at the crease. "He is certainly doing a really good job and his batting is coming on (in) leaps and bounds. We always knew his quality with the ball and it was just about developing his batting. He is working really hard on it. Honestly, we had identified him more than a year (ago). It's (batting) an area of his game that we have identified, we know that it's important for us to have that and whatever opportunities Axar has got, especially with Jadeja missing quite a lot of cricket, he hasn't let us down in Test cricket, ODIs, whether it's been here," added Dravid.
