Axar Patel: Fear makes India a resilient group
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R. Ashwin and Axar Patel were the two wizards who had the ball against Indian England earlier this year. Their magic spectacularly wiped out the visiting team in three of the four Tests. Ashwin, of course, just justified his reputation as the best contemporary spinner in Test cricket; Axar, meanwhile, said he was an adult, having shown enough promise to run with the Indian team for three years.
Axar made his debut in the second round in Chennai, and was immediately affected, taking seven wickets in India’s comprehensive victory. Gujarat scored 11 wickets at his state’s Narendra Modi stadium with the pink ball, followed by another nine wickets at the same spot in the third round. A pelota player who broke the record for most wickets (Ajantha Mendis led 26 against India in 2008) in the first series of three trials.
He came back here with two good seasons with Delhi Capitals, in 2019 and 2020, after falling a bit off the radar in the IPL. He remained stunned in 2021, registering an economic rate of under 7 for the second year in a row to help him reach the Capitals playoffs.
In an interaction Sportsstar, Axar reflects on the turbulent year, explains how good the Capitals have been in recent seasons and looks at the Test series against New Zealand.
You made your test debut and had a good season with Delhi Capitals. It also had to self-isolate due to COVID-19 in the middle of IPL in India. Your thoughts on the year so far.
It’s been a very good year for me. I made my test debut and I’ve been playing in India and I’ve been doing it constantly, so it’s been one of the best years I’ve had this year. In the IPL, I went back and continued playing at the same pace I had before taking COVID-19 infection. Overall, it was uneventful and I had a great time this year.
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How has it been at Capitals and does Ricky Ponting get the best out of the players?
I am happy at Delhi Capitals. By the time I moved to the capitals, I had already played for the Indian team. I was a close friend of Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan; we connected well with each other. We were the same age and they created a good atmosphere. That was one of the reasons we understood each other so well, and it was reflected in the performances we did for the club. If we’re clear about what our roles are, it’s great.
From left to right: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan and Anrich Nortje for the IPL 2021 Delhi capitals. – SHEET PHOTO / PTI
I enjoyed three years at Capitals. At one point I wasn’t bored. A team works well if all team members are in sync with each other and enjoy each other’s success. And that’s one of the traits we have in Capitals. We enjoy each other’s success; when we lose, we lose together, and when we win, we win together. If we lose, we will stay together; after the match, we always have a reunion. We don’t worry about losses, we just discuss what to improve and be ready for the next day.
This became our culture, and it continued for three years. No one speaks negatively about other people. Ricky Ponting gets the credit for that. As he takes the team with him, he treats everyone equally and manages us well. There is no distinction of players based on categories such as international players, IPL players and domestic players. A positive atmosphere was created at Ponting in Capitals.
And about the friends of your team spinners – Amit Mishra and R. Ashwin. Ashwin, like you, is a finger rotator. Has your game improved with his presence and advice?
Ashwin and I are different types of bowls, and Mishy is a rotating bracelet bhai it is also different. Physically we don’t compare our bowling to each other. Our roles and styles are different. Ashwin gives the ball a bit of a fly, I like to give it a quick kick. But when we practice, we discuss strategies and game plans, or we basically improve the thinking that is necessary for success. The bowling mindset is what I learned from them: how to throw in a certain situation, and so on.
Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin. – SPORTZPICS / BCCI
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Your opinion on the overall performance of Pontitals in the last two seasons of Ponting.
The atmosphere and culture cultivated by Ponting and the fact that some of us were the same age and well connected played an important role in the good performance of the team over the course of three years. In addition, there were new and experienced players in the team – a good mix of youth and experience – which also helped. And we also knew each other’s role, we got together and we enjoyed each other’s success. All of this has helped us succeed.
About the Test Series Against England in India. You took a pile of bowls in every game, but in the daytime test of the day you would be especially pleased with the 11 warehouses made in front of the people in your home. Is your opinion about that test match and the best moment of your cricket career?
The best moment I got on February 13th was the Test cap. The pink ball test would be close to second; in front of the people in my house, I got the most wicket. And I got wickets on the first ball in both innings. There are a lot of memorable moments from that game, as well as a few small details. I didn’t play on the team for three years, but I trained well so I could play well when I had the chance. I thought the pink ball was also helping me; It was a little bright, so it was slipping after landing. A lot of things were going in my favor.
Opinions about India’s chances in the next Test series against New Zealand?
I will try to play as well as I did at home in the Test series against England at home. It will be a good series against New Zealand. They work better in seam conditions than in fields that improve the spine. That will be a challenge for them; we have a home advantage. At the same time, they are playing very well in both red and white balls – they defeated us in the final of the World Test Championship – so we can’t take them lightly. We need to be ready with our plans.
Do you think the Indian Test team is going through a golden phase at the moment?
I think this Indian team is pretty brave. Every time a decision is made, the team does not back down from trying to fully implement it. It used to be that we’re not doing well on the green fields and doing better at home on spinning tracks, but this Indian team has changed those perceptions. The team now has the confidence to do well in all conditions, and if we lose, we will make no excuses. A culture within this Indian group has developed in recent years. It’s important for a team to remain aggressive all 90 overs a day.
New players offer no excuses and always try to get ahead of themselves, no matter what situation they encounter. No one is disappointed, everyone is sure. And it shows that too: a new hero is being created in every series we play and not a single player is doing well in a period of time. It’s because of the team effort in every series that we’re doing well.
What was the captain’s and coach’s message after India lost to Chennai against England in the first round?
I would have played in the first test but I developed a small problem and I didn’t play according to the advice of the fission. When we lost, we didn’t stop at that loss, just like we didn’t when we lost Australia’s first test (Adelaide Test, 2020-21). We have to side with our crickets; we have lost because we have not carried out our plans well. Just continue and start again. We’ll see what happens, but if we start thinking about our loss, we’ll feel more pressure for the next game. So the idea is to play normal and take everything we get.
In today’s cricket, how easy or difficult is it to switch between formats and between red and white cricket balls? Is it a change of mindset, or does it also involve an improvement in physical preparation and technique?
These three play a role. T20 cricket is less technically relevant than in other formats; you make almost seven or eight deliveries sometimes and the ball doesn’t even swing much. But if you go to the red ball cricket, you know you’re going to have to play the day; if your technique is not good, you can chase or drive a wide shipment and lose your wicket. So that’s where you need to improve your technique.
Mental readiness, however, is a condition for all conditions.
For all three formats, you need to be physically, mentally and technically ready. But maybe there’s more room to hide in the cricket of the white ball if you’re technically weak. But even so, without an expert, it’s impossible to keep playing constantly in some games.
It is quite difficult for a player to pass from a red ball to a white ball cricket and vice versa. It’s harder to get into red ball mode after playing white ball cricket. It’s hard, but the better you train yourself to accept the challenge, the better, instead of fearing the future.
Finally, you’ve been on the home circuit for a few years. Can you think of the legacy left by Parthiv Patel, from whose hand Gujarat won the Ranji Trophy in 2016-17 and finished in the top four in 2019-20?
In the past, Gujarat used to be a punching bag in the West Zone; any team could win against Gujarat. Since Parthiv came along and managed the team, the team has changed. He created a new culture. When we joined, we were already developing the confidence and mentality to fight. It took many years to develop a culture and mindset to succeed, and now we have a tough team and a hunger for success; It was Parthiv who helped us get here. I don’t think anyone will be able to do what they did with the Gujarat team. Our task is to create a team as Parthive gave us.
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