Axar sweats it out at nets, a shoe-in for Zimbabwe game?

chennai: Axar Patel polishing his left-arm spin skills for nearly 30 minutes at nets is not a rarity, but questions around his possible return to the playing 11 for India’s must-win game against Zimbabwe lend gravitas to the sight.

Axar was benched in favour of Washington Sundar during the previous match against South Africa at Ahmedabad, raising bedlam among fans and pundits alike. From a cricketing perspective it was not a flawed idea, as the management wanted to use Washington’s off-spin against two power-hitting SA left-handers -- Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickleton -- in the Power Play.

But the strategy which was woven heavily around match-up calculations failed to take off as Jasprit Bumrah accounted for both De Kock and Rickleton in the Power Play phase.

India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had hinted as much. “We spent so much time deliberating about the 11. I guess the only way that it sort of didn’t play into our hands is if we did have the ideal start like we did today with getting Quinton and Rickelton out so early. We were kind of looking at matchups more in the middle. And then obviously, someone has to give way,” Doeschate had said after the 76-run defeat against the Proteas.

That result has made India’s two remaining Super Eights matches must-win affairs and the first of which is against Zimbabwe here on Thursday.

Zimbabwe too have two left-handers in their top-order -- opener Tadi Marumani and Ryan Burl at No. 4.

Therefore, will Washington be able to keep his place in the XI? Or will Axar make a return, pushing behind the match-ups?