Axar Patel feels ready for his second tour of Australia and is not losing sleep over the close competition between him and Ravindra Jadeja for the number one left-arm spinner's role in the five ODIs Down Under, says a report in Pune Mirror, adding that however, it will be hard for MS Dhoni to pick him as R Ashwin's spin partner over Jadeja, who made a roaring return to international cricket in the Test series against South Africa and is now in both the ODI and T20 squads for the Australia tour.
"There is always going to be competition when you are playing for India but it has not come in the way of the personal rapport I share with some of the team members. Jaddu bhai (Jadeja) is back so there is going to be competition as most likely there will be only one left-arm spinner in the playing eleven. But that is how it is. It is nice that he is back in all formats. We are both from Gujarat and it is always fun to be in his company," Patel said.
According to a report in The Tribune, the selectors are trying out different players for the three T20 Internationals in Australia and Patel, who earned his India cap courtesy a stellar showing in the 2014 IPL, is disappointed at being left out of the T20 squad. “It is disappointing obviously. The World T20 is around the corner and it would have been nice to play three matches in Australia. Having said that, I think if I keep doing well in the ODIs and domestic cricket, it is just a matter of time before I make the T20 return. There is nothing to worry as there is still some time left for the World T20,” he said.
