India vs Afghanistan: The Indian T20I team, after becoming historic back-to-back World Champions, has not had the best of rides in the shortest format. Under new captain Shreyas Iyer, the Men in Blue lost series to Ireland and England before whitewashing Zimbabwe away from home. Following the poor results in the United Kingdom, criticism has risen over some of the players. One of these players is former vice-captain Axar Patel. There are reports that the all-rounder could be replaced by Krunal Pandya in the T20I team for the series against Afghanistan.
India vs Afghanistan: Krunal Pandya to Replace Axar Patel?
Post the average display of returns from Axar over the seven matches against England and Ireland, the selectors of India are seriously looking at the alternatives in the left-arm slow bowling department. As reported in the Times of India, Krunal Pandya has been one of the contenders floated for the position.
Though not played a single T20I for India since the 2021 series against Sri Lanka, Pandya has remained in the conversation as his IPL performances have been up there. The Indian Premier League 2026 provided ample evidence of his ability to turn a match, and Krunal’s contribution was reflected in 14 wickets for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Krunal Pandya or Axar Patel: Who is Better For Team India?
Krunal Pandya and Axar Patel have been playing as all-rounders in the IPL since the beginning of their careers; their stats in the past five seasons tell a story of quite a difference. For example, Krunal got 839 runs and also took 56 wickets during these five seasons. Meanwhile, Axar has gotten 1,136 runs and also taken 44 wickets from IPL 2022 to 2026.
It is Axar who has been the better among the two when it comes to performance with the bat in hand. However, given that the vacated position in the Indian team would require them to bat at number eight, Krunal’s better bowling returns could convince the selectors to pick the 35-year-old.
Pragun is a passionate cricket follower and writer who deeply loves the game. Having completed his education with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has an experience of almost two years in diverse fields. He is known for his statistical and analytical articles. Pragun tries to bring life to his articles by adding a layer of enthusiasm from the perspective of a hardcore fan. Apart from writing cricket articles, he sometimes appears on YouTube videos on a friend’s podcast.
