Shane Watson Explains What Makes Facing Axar Patel So Difficult For The Batsmen

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Former Australia allrounder Axar Patel has explained the reason behind batsmen struggling against Axar Patel. The left-arm spinner is set to be one of India’s most important bowlers in the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia.

Axar Patel has terrorised the visiting teams since making his debut in the longest format of the game in 2021. In his debut Test series which was against England, he had picked up 27 wickets from just 3 games that included 4 five-wicket hauls.

Overall, he has played 6 Tests in India so far and has picked up a highly-impressive 39 wickets with the help of 5 five-wicket hauls in an innings. Visiting teams have found it extremely tough to handle Axar Patel and Australia are likely to face the same challenge.

Axar Patel | Pankaj Nangia/ Sportzpics for BCCI

Shane Watson on Axar Patel:

As Australia gear up for the daunting task of facing Axar Patel in testing conditions, Shane Watson has explained why the spinner has been so challenging for the batsmen. The former allrounder stated that the spinner’s angle makes him difficult to pick up for the batsmen.

Watson, who enjoyed a highly successful stint in the IPL, revealed that he always found facing Axar Patel difficult..

“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,” he added.