India vs Australia: 'I took 30 Test matches to improve my batting, he did it in four games' - Jadeja on Axar

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Ravindra Jadeja has heaped rich praises on his teammate and fellow all-rounder Axar Patel, saying that the calmness, composure and solidarity which the southpaw showed in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Nagpur was similar to that of Team India captain Rohit Sharma who scored a gritty hundred in the match.

Axar scored 84 runs off 174 to help India post 400 in the first innings. His eighth wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (70) accounted for 88 runs off 211 balls. The innings from the Gujarat batter pushed Australia completely out of the game as the hosts registered a thumping innings and 132-run win.

"It's not like he has done it suddenly. Ever since he's come into the Indian team, he has kept on performing. I remember there was this game in West Indies where all our big batters had failed and from there, he won India the game. So he has that batting skills which the Indian team too respects. And he did it again. The wicket was not easy to bat on. The calmness, composure and solidarity displayed by Rohit Sharma was seen in Axar Patel too. He batted as if there were no demons on this wicket," Jadeja said on Cricbuzz.

Jadeja doffs his hat to Axar

Further, Jadeja has reckoned that Axar's improvement as a batter has been more rapid than his own. With the help of two fifties, the 29-year-old has scored 333 runs in nine Test matches at an average of 27.75. His batting in white-ball cricket has also been a revelation. In an ODI match against West Indies in 2022, he blasted 64 not out runs off just 35 balls to help India chase 312 with two balls to spare.

"He is one of those players rises to the occasion - when the opportunity provides or when the team is in trouble or when all eyes are on him - and takes his game to the whole different level. I have heard things about him such as he is very casual, but someone who enjoys his game. But he improves when needed. If Ravindra [Jadeja] has taken 30 Test matches to improve his batting, he has taken just 4 I guess. He is performing his primary role of a bowler with aplomb but in batting too he has made rapid strides. If I have to rate all three all-rounders, then I will place Axar on top," he added.

India face Australia in the second Test in Delhi from February 17.