India's newly appointed vice-captain Axar Patel has hinted at a flexible middle order for the upcoming T20I series against England.

The T20I series between India and England is all set to kick off at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on January 22 and Axar has confirmed that apart from openers, none of the batter's batting position is fixed in the line-up.

Moreover, Axar is one of the players who has been extensively used as a floater in the Indian team. In the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa, the southpaw was promoted to bat at number four as well. Apart from Axar, India have also used Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar and Rinku Singh as floaters with decent success.

"Batting wise, it's not just with me, but we spoke in 2023-24 itself that the openers are fixed, but everyone from Nos. 3 to 7 have been told that they can come into bat anytime, in any situation. It is not just that one batter will bat at a particular position. Our middle order will come to bat depending on the match situation, what kind of bowlers are bowling at the time, which match-up works well," Axar said while speaking in the press conference.

For the first time, Axar Patel is part of the leadership group for India having been named vice-captain and he is keen to learn a lot in his new role. "It has just been a day, but as part of the leadership group there is an extra responsibility. The T20I side is settled, so there's not much pressure, but there are small decisions that need making and during the game I need to work closely with Suryakumar.

"As part of the leadership group, you have to learn to take harsh decisions. We have spoken about sharing our genuine opinions and that will help build trust in this group. The T20I format is such that it is so fast that you have to make decisions quickly, so the larger conversations [with the coaches] is about how to do that," Axar added.