India, March 7 -- Ahead of the Champions Trophy tournament, India coach Gautam Gambhir had highlighted the value of having the option of Axar Patel at No.5 in the batting line-up.

There was a debate whether the position was a bit too high for the Gujarat all-rounder. For the team management, however, Axar provided the flexibility.

The southpaw has come to Dubai and continued to impress. The advantage is his ability to play as per the situation, if the team has lost wickets and is under pressure he consolidates.

In the tough CT group game against New Zealand, when India collapsed to 30/3, he joined Shreyas Iyer to add 98 runs and contribute towards India reaching a decent total of 249/9. In the semifinal, against Australia, in the tough...