Australian national team head coach Ricky Ponting has demanded more important batting performances from Axar Patel in the next IPL season. Following the all-rounder’s late exploits with the bat, Ponting has assigned him to bat as higher as number 6 in the IPL.
Axar was excellent in the just-concluded Test series against Australia, scoring 264 runs in 4 matches with 3 half-centuries. The 29-year-old’s contributions with the bat were important, particularly in the 2nd Test in Delhi when India was on the brink of yielding a huge lead.
One for the archives. Thrilled to see it all come together at @GCAMotera 🏟️ .. couldn’t have asked for a better place to seal the deal. #homeground #indvsaus #bordergavaskartrophy pic.twitter.com/q9KR9VnbRl
— Akshar Patel (@akshar2026) March 13, 2023
Talking on an episode of the ICC Review, Ponting said:
“I want to get a bit more out of him at the Delhi Capitals this year, that’s for sure. We batted him up a bit higher a few times last year. I think he’s good enough to bat No. 6 probably in an IPL team.”
The Tasmanian stated he is glad to have absolutely impacted the performers of many during his tenure as coach and ongoing:
“Any of these guys I’ve had a chance to work with at Delhi through my time there, even those, as I said, those couple of years at Mumbai, to see them progress and get better and start having a lot of success on the international stages is, it’s great,” Ponting said.
The Gujarat-born all-rounder’s T20 batting has also peaked recently and was on display in the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pune. He struck 65 off 31 balls, laced with three fours and six sixes to help India get closer to the 206-run target.
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