"Clear message was given to him...": Rohit opens on Axar batting at 5

Dubai [UAE], March 3 (ANI): Ahead of the semi-final clash against Australia in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Tuesday, India skipper Rohiit Sharma revealed that all-rounder Axar Patel was told by the management during the England series that he will bat at number five no matter what is the situation.
Axar had a good day in the match with both bat and bowl. In the first innings, the Men in Blue were struggling at 30/3 in 6.4 overs when the left-hand batter came out to bat in the middle along with Shreyas Iyer.
Both batters stitched a partnership of 98 runs from 136 balls before Axar was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 42 runs off 61 balls, which came with the help of three fours and a six. With the ball in the second innings, the left-arm spinner took one wicket and gave away just 32 runs in his 10-over spell.
"Clear message was given to him when we started the ODI series against England, that no matter what the situation is, you will bat at 5. The kind of improvement he's shown with his bat over the last year or so is superb to watch. That is where we felt that we can utilize him to bat in the middle and bat freely. He likes to take the game on, likes to play his shots. Sometimes you are in trouble, and want to always take that positive route," Rohit Sharma said in a pre-match press conference.
Axar Patel has shown good form while batting at number 5. From 2016, Axar has batted at number five on seven occasions, where he has managed to score 227 runs at a strike rate of 90.43 and at an average of 37.83 with one half century and best score of 52.
Recently, in the ODI series against England, he scored a crucial 52 runs off 47 balls in one match and a valuable unbeaten 41 runs in another.
The India skipper also recalled Axar's crucial knock from the T20WC Final, where he helped India recover following three quick fall of wickets against South Africa.
"He showed it in the T20 World Cup final, which was a very, very crucial knock. In that game as well, we were three down and for him to come out and bat like that was superb and got us to a decent total in the end. And that is what we expect. Whenever he's gotten an opportunity, he's shown that he can do just a bit more than what we expect him to do. He's upped his game in terms of his batting. So always nice to have those kind of players in your squad," the 37-year-old added. (ANI)