When a left quadricep injury ruled Axar Patel out of India’s ODI World Cup squad last year, he wasn’t sure what the future held for him. However, he did not lose hope. Banking on his experience, Axar made it a point to remain positive and worked hard on his game during rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy.
Focusing on mental toughness, he found his mojo in the home series against Afghanistan, and followed it up with a fairly decent IPL season for Delhi Capitals. Despite batter-friendly conditions and rules, Axar managed to stifle the batters, and claimed 11 wickets, besides scoring 235 runs.
He carried that confidence into the T20 World Cup and emerged as one of the key players for the Indian team, which went on to win the title. While he bowled tidy overs and claimed some stunning catches near the boundary rope, Axar contributed significantly with the bat as well. His partnership with Virat Kohli proved pivotal for India in the final against South Africa.
The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, who’s managed by JSW Sports, spoke to Sportstar about his journey in the T20 World Cup and how he enjoys a competitive environment…
From missing out on an ODI World Cup spot last year to being a key member of India’s T20 World Cup-winning side. How would you look back on your journey over the last one year?
It was an emotional roller-coaster. Having missed out on last year’s ODI World Cup at home due to injury, I was over-thinking why I missed out on such opportunities. In the past, too, I have missed out on a few opportunities, so I knew the feeling, so this time around, it was about coming to terms with another setback and getting myself ready for future opportunities.
It was about getting over this challenging phase and I used my experience to deal with it and plan things accordingly. That approach helped me and when I returned to the fold, I did not dwell over the past. My only aim was to get better and make a comeback into the Indian team, and I picked up from where I had left off. I went to the National Cricket Academy for rehabilitation and made a few changes to my batting and bowling, and that positive mindset reflected in my performances in the bilateral series. I could carry that confidence into the Indian Premier League.
I had a satisfying performance in the IPL for Delhi Capitals and that boosted my confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup, and it seems life indeed came full circle as I was part of the tournament winning team. Over the last few years, I missed out on some big opportunities mostly due to injuries and that would often bother me, but when we won, I realised that you don’t know what the almighty has in store for you. Shayad bhagwan mujhe World Cup-winning team mein rakhna chahte the (Perhaps God wanted me to be in World Cup-winning team) , so it was an emotional moment for me. And, all our hard work eventually paid off and all’s well that ends well.
In major parts of the tournament, you batted at No.4 or No.5 - a position that you have always preferred batting at. How much did it help?
I have batted at No.4 for my district Kheda and also for the Gujarat state team. So, I had a fair idea and having batted at that position in the IPL as well, I knew how to pace the innings. Those experiences taught me how to approach the game and how to accelerate the strike. Since you have the cushion of a lower-middle order, it allows you to play freely as compared to batting at No. 7 or at No.8. In those positions, you have to take calculated risks, and such things happen.
When I was asked to bat at No.4, I knew that I could take a bit of time to settle down, and there wasn’t a mad rush to hit every ball. I played to my strength and targeted particular areas where I could hit. If I knew that I could play a shot to my strength, I would not hesitate to go for it. And when some deliveries were beyond my radar, I preferred rotating the strike.
“I have batted at No.4 for my district Kheda and also for the Gujarat state team. So, I had a fair idea and having batted at that position in the IPL as well, I knew how to pace the innings,” Axar Patel said. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu
When you have to play according to the situation, keeping a positive mindset is the key and I just did that. The captain (Rohit Sharma) and the coach (Rahul Dravid) also backed me throughout the tournament, and they were clear in their approach. They told me, “ tujhe slog nahi karna hai (you don’t need to slog), you just play your natural game…” Since I had clarity regarding my role, it was easy to approach an innings and the fact that all of us were on the same page helped a lot.
How do you handle tricky situations?
As a player, you need to understand your game. At the same time, it’s important to realise no matter what your game is, it’s about how you contribute to your team’s success. When you are in that situation, you should allow yourself to think for a few seconds and I always do that. I take those few seconds to understand what my team wants from me in that situation. It’s a simple question and if you think through it, you are bound to come up with a solution. It helps you judge whether it is the right time to accelerate or is it the time to stick around. Similarly, while bowling, you need to make up your mind - whether to bowl some tight and tidy overs or whether to go for some attacking overs and find breakthroughs. I always approach in such a manner.
People often stamp a player with a particular style of play, but that’s not quite the case. While everyone knows their strength, they also approach things according to the situation, and change their game accordingly. If you can read the game and change accordingly, you’ll be successful on most occasions.
India has a strong spin bowling line-up. How do you see this healthy competition among your colleagues?
As a player, you expect a healthy competitive environment in the team. If there’s no competition, then complacency could creep in and at times you tend to take things easy. Instead of giving it your 100 per cent, you take things for granted and that is not a desirable situation.
In a competitive environment, I think about my game and how I can improve. I don’t look at how others are batting or bowling, so my focus remains on working hard on my performances. If I don’t control things that are in my hand, then I am not doing justice to myself and my game. If I keep thinking about competitors, then I will never grow. Agar main constantly uss barein mein soch raha hoon, toh main automatically haar raha hoon (If am constantly thinking about it then I am automatically losing) . I think about my game and how I can contribute 100 per cent to the team’s success and that mindset keeps me going. Rest it’s up to them.
Also read | Harshit Rana credits Gambhir for changing mindset after maiden ODI call-up
With Gautam Gambhir at the helm as the new head coach and Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain, how do you plan to approach things going forward?
With a new coach and a new T20I captain, we will all get together in Sri Lanka later this week and once we sit down with the coach, we will share our thoughts and ideas and then plan the road ahead. The coach and the captain will share their thoughts, and I will also express myself and mutually, we will decide our roles. We need to sort that out and accordingly, we will approach things and set targets accordingly.
Of course, people set their targets, but I don’t set too many expectations and prefer going with the flow. If you play continuous cricket, you keep asking yourself what’s next and you plan accordingly. Of course, there are long-term goals, but I haven’t set anything. All this while, our only aim was to break the title jinx and win a World Cup and now having achieved that, we will all sit together and plan the future course of action.
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