Bridgetown, 2024. From 23-0 after 1.3 overs, India have just slipped to 34-3 in 4.3. Keshav Maharaj had taken out two of these wickets. To counter him, India needed a left-hander. Rishabh Pant was gone, but they had Shivam Dube, who came into the World Cup with a reputation for hitting spin.

Axar, who had only twice previously batted in the top five of a T20I line-up, walked out instead. He hit Kagiso Rabada for four and retained the strike. Aiden Markram, a finger-spinner with a supposedly favourable match-up against Axar, was forced to replace Maharaj with himself. Axar hit him for a six. Maharaj returned. Axar hit him for six as well. Markram turned to Tabraiz Shamsi. Axar treated him the same way.

So Markram did the only thing a captain can do when three different kinds of spinners fail: he recalled Rabada. Axar responded with the best hit of them all – a magnificent shot that cleared long-on.

Had a run out not curbed the innings at a 31-ball 47, Axar could well have decided the match in the first half. Yet, there was no reason to believe that it came as a surprise, for Axar has been India’s floater for some time now.

Not for the first time

In fact, he batted at five in the 2022 T20 World Cup match against Pakistan – and one can see why. Chasing 160, India were 26-3, but this was the last over in the powerplay. Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz were to share eight overs, and both of them turned the ball into the left-hander. As with the 2024 T20 World Cup final, this experiment ended in a run out.

That December, India were reeling at 12-2 in a Test match on a Mirpur rank turner when Axar walked out against three seasoned spinners. By stumps, they were 45-4. By the time he was seventh out for 34 – the short-pitched ball as good as rolled on – it was 74-7. Yet again, he had adapted.

Two months later, Axar was playing alongside Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin against Australia. This meant that he would get a bowl only when the senior spinners could not break through after long spells – which seldom happened – and bat at nine.

So Axar did what he is best at. He adapted. At Nagpur, his 84 helped India recover from 240-7 to 400 and shut Australia out of the Test. At Delhi, he walked out at 135-6 – that one innings had helped him earn a promotion – made 74, and helped India reach within a run of Australia’s first-innings total. When India folded for 109 and 163 at Indore, Axar remained unbeaten in both innings.

As spinners of both sides called the shots, Axar was India’s most productive batter despite batting in the bottom four every time. Having played a lot of his cricket in the DRS era, he kept the pad out of harm’s way and risked edging the ball rather than letting it hit the pad. It worked.

The spinner who plays spin

Indeed, Axar plays spin better than almost any Indian. He averages 40.38 against spin in Test cricket. Since the start of 2021, his debut year, only four Indians have more runs against spin at a better average. And barring Rishabh Pant, none of them performs a second role.

Best average against spin for India in Test cricket since January 1, 2021 (500 runs)

None of them has been moved around the batting order as much either. Axar has batted at every position between four and nine in Test cricket and in ODIs and in T20Is, though his forays at two-down have not been quite frequent. In the IPL, he has even come out at one-drop.

The phrase “middle-order batter” is used somewhat vaguely in cricket. While we generally agree on it being bounded by the top order and the tail, it is not very clear where it begins and where it ends.

His ability to counter spin makes him an invaluable middle-order bat, especially in the subcontinent (he is yet to play a Test outside). India use him wherever they want to. And in limited-overs cricket, his ability to hit spin makes him an ideal floater to overcome match-ups.

Best average against spin for India in ODIs since January 1, 2021 (300 runs)

Barring Kishan, the five batters above Axar were first-choice batters in the Indian side at the 2023 World Cup, as they would be at the 2025 Champions Trophy. That is the league he belongs to, but there is more to it than that.

To begin with, all of them bat right-handed. One can see why Gautam Gambhir asked “If you have the option of putting a quality left-hand batter in the middle; why won’t you do that?” at the press conference after the ODIs against England.

But two other things stand out as well. One, none of the five batters bowl. And two, only Rohit hits spin at a quicker rate.

We have discussed how flexible India have been with Axar in T20Is. That, too, is based on similar reasons.

Best strike rate against spin for India in T20Is since January 1, 2021 (120 runs)

As is evident, no one is above Axar in both the ODI and the T20I lists. And none of them is in the side primarily for bowling.

But... isn’t he a bowler who bats?

He used to, but over the years, Axar has demonstrated that he can match most specialist batters when it comes to handling spin in Test cricket. Ashwin does not play anymore, but India have found a like-for-like replacement in Washington Sundar. However, Jadeja’s impending exit – he is 36 – will certainly help Axar have another go. Once that happens, expect him to rise through the batting order a la Jadeja.

In ODIs, Axar masters the middle overs with sustained domination. India know that and have used him well. Part of that is to break the right-hand monotony, but Axar walks out to dig deep and score quickly, not merely hit spin. That last bit is closer to his role in T20Is, where he can dominate the slow bowlers as well as any of his compatriots.

It is important to remember that Axar can run through sides on turning tracks (he still averages below 20 in Test cricket!) but can bowl his quota in shorter formats while going at 4.50 in ODIs and 7.30 in T20Is. He is primarily a bowler.

Yet, of all eleven Indians in an XI, he is probably the least visible: while the perception is that he is the third Test spinner (or fifth or even sixth bowler in limited-overs cricket), he doubles up as the one of the most flexible batters.

One can see why, amidst rumours of him being Delhi Capitals’ captain for 2025, India elevated Axar as the T20I vice-captain. Perhaps he has more shoes to fill.