Ravindra Jadeja's performance made it difficult for left-arm spinners to break into Test squad: Axar Patel

India spinner Axar Patel, who made his debut in the longest format during the England tour this year, has said that breaking into the Test squad was not easy as Ravindra Jadeja was giving top performances for the team.

Axar Patel made his Test debut in February 2021, six years after playing his maiden match for India and starred so much so with the ball that he ended up picking 27 wickets from the 3 matches in the series. He took 4 five-wicket hauls as England lost the series 3-1. England managed to win only the first Test match which Axar missed due to a knee injury. Ravindra Jadeja, India's first choice all-rounder in red ball cricket, was out of the home series due to a thumb injury which he incurred during the Australia tour and his absence became a blessing in disguise for Axar, the second most famous left-arm spin bowling all-rounder from the state of Gujarat. Axar Patel has now admitted that the problem was not with his skill sets but Jadeja's on-field brilliance had made entry of any left-arm spinner in the squad "very difficult". The presence of an equally brilliant Ravichandran Ashwin made the path difficult for him further.