All-rounder Axar Patel once again showcased a remarkable bowling show on Thursday night as India defeated Afghanistan by 6 wickets in the first T20I in Mohali to go 1-0 up in the 3-match series. The southpaw provided the opening breakthrough after India invited Afghanistan to bat first, breaking the 50-run opening between Rahmanullah Guraz and visiting captain Ibrahim Zadran.
Axar struck in back-to-back overs, getting Gurbaz stumped in the eighth and then cleaned up Rahmat Shah cheaply in the 10th to reduce Afghanistan to 57/3. The off-spinner returned 2 for 23 in 4 overs and was the second most economical bowler for India on Thursday night.
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The 29-year-old has been among wickets since his return from injury. He ended the Australia T20Is as the second-highest wicket-taker with 6 scalps in 5 games and also put up a decent show in the 3-match ODI series against South Africa. Given his form, he is likely to be in consideration for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States but Axar doesn’t want to delve too much into it.
Addressing the post-match press conference after the 1st T20I against Afghanistan, Axar said he’s not thinking about his selection as he doesn’t want to put an extra bit of pressure on his mind.
“Obviously, we have just 2 more games and then there is IPL in place. But I’m not thinking that way. It’s a World Cup Year, the competition is there but it’s up to you how to take it. But most importantly, you need to stick to the process,” Axar said.
“So, there is this Test series and then IPL before the World Cup. So, I’m not thinking too about it and keeping myself away from the selection pressure. “Aapne mera record dekha hoga, kuch bhi kar sakta hun main (You must have seen my record, I can do anything). So, not thinking too far as of now,” he added.
Axar has already missed the ODI World Cup last year after injuring his quadriceps in the Asia Cup 2023. After getting ruled out from the showpiece event, he worked at the National Cricket Academy on his bowling and introduced a few variations to it.
“It was unfortunate to miss the World Cup due to injury. But it wasn’t the first time that I got injured, it keeps happening. So, I utilized that break to work on my bowling. I just thought what more could be done. That’s what I did at the NCA. Like I applied variations against Australia, the slower balls with proper line and length,” he said.
“I was thinking about what extra I can add to my bowling because you don’t have many options as a spinner. So, I kept discussing with the coaches and worked throughout on my bowling,” Axar added.
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