Jadeja or Axar? India to make 'utility' decision ahead of 2027 World Cup

Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel remain competing options in India's plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup, with spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule saying the series leading up to the tournament will help determine "who can be of utility".

While Axar is with the T20I squad at the Asian Games, Jadeja returned to India's ODI squad after missing their previous two series, and began the ODI series with figures of 0 for 54 in ten overs in Thiruvananthapuram.

In the last 12 months, Jadeja has taken just one wicket in seven ODIs and has a bowling average of more than 350. Barring the Thiruvananthapuram ODI, Jadeja had not finished his full quota of overs across the six ODIs against New Zealand and South Africa either. Axar, on the other hand, has taken eight wickets in his last six ODIs across the last 12 months, and his bowling average (30.87) in that period has been better than his career average (32.73) too.

But Bahutule believes Jadeja has improved as a bowler over the last six months.

"For me he [Jadeja] has always been a utility player," Bahutule said in Guwahati ahead of the second ODI against West Indies. "He is somebody who can contribute with the bat as well as with the ball. He has definitely improved as a bowler over the last six months. I thought the Test matches he bowled really well in Sri Lanka, as well as now with the first one-dayer. It is his first game after a long period, but he has done well.

"With Axar also being around, with the series or tournaments we play in the coming months, we will be able to assess who can be of utility. But Jaddu, with his batting skills, the experience he brings in, is definitely doing well and I am sure he will be looked into in the coming time."

The conditions India expect in South Africa will have a significant bearing on those decisions. While Bahutule said India were not specifically attempting to replicate South African pitches during their home series, they were aware of the greater bounce and potentially reduced assistance for spin at the World Cup.

"We can't really replicate the same pitches, what it is going to be in South Africa," he said. "But as you saw the previous game also, there was a lot of bounce, there was a lot in the pitches for the fast bowlers, spinners, and it was excellent to bat on.

"So we might look at it as something you can expect in South Africa, where there will be bounce, there might be less turn and [it will be] helpful for the fast bowlers.

"Yes, the World Cup is a year away from us now, but considering all the conditions, it is not that we are making an effort to have those [South African] type of pitches. All the venues have different challenges.

"But we are very much aware of the type of pitches we are going to get in South Africa and accordingly we are trying to identify the right players who can have an impact in those conditions."

That assessment extends to the make-up of India's pace attack. Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna are the frontline quicks for the West Indies ODIs, with Nitish Kumar Reddy providing another seam-bowling option. Jasprit Bumrah is currently with the T20I squad at the Asian Games, while Yash Thakur and the injured Harshit Rana are also part of India's wider pool of fast bowlers. Hardik Pandya, when available, provides another allround option, while Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube are largely earmarked as T20I specialists.

"These series are a good opportunity for us to also see different types of combinations we can have in the team," Bahutule said. "When it comes to the fast bowlers, it will be important to see who would actually be the three fast bowlers, maybe a fourth seamer, an allrounder - that is yet to be seen. But ample opportunities will be given to all the bowlers to bowl in different phases."

Kuldeep Yadav, in contrast, appears to have a more established place in India's plans.

"Kuldeep has always been a match-winner for India," Bahutule said. "He has performed exceedingly well, his numbers also show that. And he works extremely hard at his game.

"There are certain aspects where he feels that he needs to improve. He will go into the nets and work at it. And there are aspects where he is very confident about, because he has been a part of this team for years. In fact, now he went for a county stint [at Yorkshire] as well, so he bowled a lot of overs there.

"So, he comes into the series well prepared. And again, he is a player who every team would want, because he is always lively on and off the field, and at the same time, his unique skills help us to perform in any conditions. And being a wristspinner, a chinaman bowler, he definitely adds value to the team."

Bahutule believes "most of the boxes are ticked" for India with a year to go, but identified fielding and finding the ideal combination for South African conditions as areas they would continue to work on.

"Fielding is something which we constantly are trying to see how we can improve as much as possible because it is not easy under lights," he said. "Sometimes when the dew comes in, it is a challenge. Sometimes we have dew, sometimes we don't. That is again a work in progress. The effort has been put in constantly.

"I think moving ahead it is going to be again the combination which is ideal for those conditions in South Africa. Otherwise, I think we are moving in the right direction. The environment and the way Gautam (Gambhir, India head coach) is looking after the team and the support staff supporting him, I think we are in the right direction and headspace leading into next year's World Cup."