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But gradually, he realised that he would have to push even harder if he wanted to be consistently in the reckoning for India as an all-rounder,” Kaif had told this paper before IPL 2022.Īnd that meant spending more time working on his batting. “When he came to DC, he was perhaps a bit happy-go-lucky. And it is probably not easy to keep pushing oneself if one is mostly going to remain on the national bench. Opportunities with the national side have been irregular, and even in the IPL, he has been known for his four accurate, economical overs more than anything else. (AP Photo/Ricardo)īut at the higher levels, his career has played out in the shadow of his fellow all-rounder. Axar Patel is embraced by teammate Mohammed Siraj after hitting a six to win the second ODI cricket match against West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. Axar had to make sure he was to the pitch of the ball, and adjust quickly if he couldn’t get there in time. Playing with regular and scuffed-up tennis balls – bowled with pinched grips to turn and bounce awkwardly on cement and other uneven surfaces – honed his defensive and driving technique. His coaches would try to keep him focused on the red ball, but he would also take out time to have fun in tennis-ball cricket. The left-hander has always had the basics of both defence and attack in place, having been nicknamed ‘Jayasuriya’ in hometown Nadiad in Gujarat for his big hitting in junior days. A realignment of his front foot while lofting down the ground, holding his hitting shape and developing scoring areas square of the wicket have expanded his stroke options. In the past few years, Axar has worked on his hitting game, especially at DC, under head coach Ricky Ponting, assistant coach Pravin Amre and former assistant coach Mohammed Kaif.
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In IPL 2022, he came in at 104 for 6 in a chase of 178 and took DC home against Mumbai Indians with an unbeaten 38 off 17 balls at Brabourne Stadium. In the Mumbai Test against New Zealand last December, he’d shown both sides of his batting range a patient 52 off 128 – his maiden Test fifty – in the first innings – was followed by an unbeaten 41 off 26 in the second as India were looking to declare. Memorably, in October 2020, Axar had hit Jadeja for three sixes in the last over to win an Indian Premier League game in Sharjah for Delhi Capitals against Chennai Super Kings.
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More evidence of that potential came in his unbeaten 64 off 35 balls, a maiden ODI half-century that won India the ODI series against West Indies in Trinidad on Sunday. It is only in the last couple of years or so that his batting has begun to garner some attention.