Asia Cup 2022: "You might not be able to do that with Axar" - Irfan Pathan on India's issue due to Ravindra Jadeja's injury

Irfan Pathan has pointed out an area where the Indian team will be hit hard by the absence of Ravindra Jadeja from the remainder of the Asia Cup 2022.

The Men in Blue will face Pakistan in their first Super 4 game in Dubai on Sunday, September 4. Jadeja will be missing further action due to a knee injury and has been replaced by Axar Patel in India's 15-member squad for the continental tournament.

Reflecting on the development during a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan opined that, unlike Jadeja, the Indian team might not be able to use Axar as a floater in the batting order. He elaborated:

"Axar Patel is the absolutely correct like-to-like replacement. The only problem is that Jadeja had become such a fantastic batter that you could have batted him up the order, you might not be able to do that with Axar."

Pathan hopes the Saurashtra all-rounder makes a speedy return to the Indian setup. The former India seamer said:

"You will get good bowling and fielding, there is no problem about that, but there will definitely be some issues regarding that change you could have done in the batting. So we hope that Ravindra Jadeja comes back after getting fit as soon as possible."

Jadeja was promoted to No. 4 in the batting order in the Group A game against Pakistan. The left-hander scored 35 runs off 29 deliveries and strung together a match-defining 52-run fifth-wicket partnership with Hardik Pandya.

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"You will be able to manage in this tournament" - Aakash Chopra on Ravindra Jadeja's absence

Ravindra Jadeja has been laid low by injuries in recent times.

Aakash Chopra reckons Jadeja's absence might not be a huge blow to India's fortunes at the Asia Cup. He observed:

"You will be able to manage in this tournament, it's not that you don't have a replacement for Ravindra Jadeja - Axar Patel has already been included. He (Jadeja) played a very good knock (against Pakistan), he is a gun fielder as well and bowled well in the second match."

The former India opener, however, feels that the all-rounder's injury could be a setback from the T20 World Cup point of view. He explained:

"My problem is that it is a recurring issue. It is not about this tournament, the problem is that he has played very little cricket in the last six months and has been out because of injury. You don't want uncertainty when you are on the doorstep of the World Cup."

Chopra wants Axar to be given opportunities in the Asia Cup. He reasoned:

"I would want to see Axar Patel playing here as now you will have to keep one eye on getting Axar ready because if Ravindra Jadeja is not there, I have to live without him."

Jadeja has played just nine T20Is this year. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player also missed a few matches in IPL 2022 due to a rib injury he suffered while fielding.