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Axar Patel
An all-rounder himself, Axar Patel on Monday became the latest Indian cricketer to criticise the Impact Player rule in the IPL with a blunt "I don't like it" response before insisting that it hurts the growth of his tribe. Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have spoken against the Impact Player rule, which allows teams to substitute anyone in the playing XI with one of the five listed substitutes at any point of the match. It was introduced in 2023 and will stay until at least 2027. In 2024, Rohit had said that he was not a fan of the strategic rule saying it hampered the development of all-rounders in Indian cricket while the following season, Hardik said it had become to difficult pick an all-rounder in the side unless he was equally good with both bat and ball. Responding to a PTI query seeking his views on the rule, the Indian T20 vice-captain too weighed in on the subject ahead of his second season as Delhi Capitals captain. "I don't like this rule as I am all rounder myself ...
India vice-captain Axar Patel said the team was surprised by the nature of the pitch in its T20 World Cup opener against USA at the usually high-scoring Wankhede Stadium. Despite the batting collapse on a tricky pitch, Axar said the team was confident of putting a competitive total on board. After put in to bat, India slipped to a dangerous position of 77/6 against the USA but skipper Suryakumar Yadav's 49-ball 84 not out bailed them out, propelling the hosts to a match-winning 161/9. India restricted USA to 132/8 to win the contest by 29 runs. "The planning is according to the match situation. Generally, the wicket in Mumbai is flat (and) we took about three overs to determine what would be a good score," Axar told the reporters after the match. "The dressing room atmosphere was like that... the kind of confidence with which we are coming in, we knew even if one batter gets going we would reach around 140-150. The wicket was also behaving (differently)." "We were surprised becau
Kane Williamson stood between India and an all-win record in the Champions Trophy group stage, keeping New Zealand's chase of 250 flickering with a polished 81. Till then batting judiciously, Williamson gave a full-hearted charge against Axar Patel and the slightly slanted delivery evaded his downcoming bat for KL Rahul to complete the stumping. It was the last ball of Axar's spell that read 10-0-32-1, and stood out for its accuracy and the cunningness to maximise his ability in favourable conditions. But the effort understandably went unnoticed in the din surrounding fellow spinner Varun Chakravarthy's five-wicket haul. But it is nothing new for Axar, as he once was labelled mercilessly as poor man's Jadeja' for the similarity in his skills a left-arm spin bowler and a left-handed batter. However, it was true that Axar was struggling to break free from the shadow of his illustrious senior teammate. The only way Axar could have cut open a path for himself was to improve his batt
Axar Patel is quickly positioning himself as an useful all-rounder in white ball formats, and for him "self-belief" is the key ingredient in that transformation. In the latest instance, Axar made a handy 42 and then claimed the prized wicket of Kane Williamson with his left-arm spin to play an important role in India's 44-run win over New Zealand in a Champions Trophy match here on Sunday. "I was not able to click earlier and it was in the back of the mind that I was not able to show my talent. Maybe, I was putting more pressure on myself back then, despite knowing that I have the talent," Axar said in a mixed zone interaction with reporters here. But an unbeaten 35-ball 64 against the West Indies at Barbados in 2022 unlocked his mind. The knock helped India chase down a daunting 312. "After that match against the West Indies, I knew I could finish games. As soon as I gained that self-belief, I didn't think much about whether I wanted to show batting to anyone or not. "I know that
As Virat Kohli neared his century against Pakistan, India's Axar Patel turned into a human calculator, crunching numbers and silently praying he didn't edge the ball at the other end, all to make sure the superstar reached his milestone. Axar walked in to bat with India needing 19 runs to win and Kohli unbeaten on 86. "At the end, actually main bhi thoda maths kar raha tha unke hundred ke liye (Even I was doing the math for his hundred towards the end). I was hoping that I don't edge the ball or something. So, it was quite fun," Axar said in video posted by ICC. However, Shaheen Afridi bowled three wides in the 42nd over, making Kohli's path to the century a bit trickier. At one point, Axar was even booed for taking a single, as fans wanted Kohli to get maximum strike. With Kohli stranded on 96 and India needing just two runs to win, skipper Rohit Sharma cheekily gestured for him to finish the game with a six. Acknowledging the call, Kohli, instead of going for a maximum, elegant