Aakash Chopra urged the Indian team management to bring Axar Patel back into the playing XI for the Super 8 clash against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22.

Chopra noted that captain Suryakumar Yadav has completely ruled out the possibility of playing Sanju Samson in the all-important fixture during the pre-match press conference. The cricketer-turned-commentator feels it is the correct decision as it is tough to build a team when the lineup is constantly being changed.

"Suryakumar Yadav was asked whether we would see Sanju Samson playing. He asked who he should drop, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma or Ishan Kishan? So he has ruled it out completely, and it makes a lot of sense. You won't be able to build a team if you keep flip-flopping so quickly," he said.

However, Chopra has suggested that Axar should be brought back into the side and Suryakumar Yadav could swap batting positions with Tilak Varma.

"So will there be no change in the XI? No, it will be there because a change should be made. Bring Bapu back. He is your team's vice-captain. So Ishan Kishan with Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma after that, and Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4, or else Surya can go at No. 3, and Tilak can go at No. 4. You can do this thing for sure if you want to maintain the left-right balance," he observed.

"If Tilak is at No. 4, Hardik Pandya can come at No. 5, and then you can keep Shivam Dube at No. 6. You will have to bring Rinku Singh at No. 7. You don't have many options left there, and then followed by Axar Patel, or else you can use Axar Patel slightly better," he said.

Chopra remembered how Axar used to be promoted up the order in the past because he was one of the rare left-handed batters in the side and could counter spinners in the middle overs. However, with the presence of a plethora of left-handers in the current team, Chopra believes that Axar is batting lower down the order.

"It was a concerted effort for a long time that we needed to reduce the dot-ball percentages. We used to put a left-hander in the middle in the form of Axar, and he used to do a very good job against spin, but we have so many left-handers now that we forget Axar's name," Chopra observed.

For specialist bowlers, Chopra picked Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh. The former cricketer said that India should play Arshdeep without any hesitation.

"One left-hander goes and another left-hander comes. However, I want Axar to definitely play this game. After him, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. Play Arshdeep Singh for sure. Don't think about doing something else," he stated.