25 Facts about Axar Patel – The Rising Indian All-Rounder

India has no dearth of talent when it comes to cricket. There are players at different age groups and levels toiling hard day in and day out. But not all get a chance to play for the precious blue. While talent is often the most important parameter for any cricketer’s selection, a bit of luck an added requirement. Had Indian selectors been dependent solely on the numbers, they would have never found the raw talent of Axar Patel. Patel, a lanky all-rounder from Gujarat who made headlines in no time since his IPL debut, and has been in consistent contention for a spot in the Indian squad. Here are some interesting facts about Axar Patel.

1. Early Life:

Axar Patel was born in Nadiad, Gujarat, on 20 January 1994. His birthname was Akshar Rajeshbhai Patel. He has an elder brother Sanship Patel. Axar had the love towards the game ever since his childhood but never gave a thought of playing professional cricket until he was 15 years of age.

2. An accidental cricketer:

He never quite wished to be a cricketer. It was when he was in Class IX, that a friend Dhiren Kansara, persuaded him to play the interschool tournament since the starting XI lacked players. This kick-started got him into the game.

3. The name game:

Axar’s birthname was Akshar. It was his School Principal’s mistake, who unknowingly spelt it as Axar in the School leaving certificate. When he later applied for his passport, the officials took the school documents into consideration and since then he became Axar!

4. Early ambition:

Axar had a dream of becoming a mechanical engineer. He was a good at academics. But after learning from his friends about his cricket playing credentials, Axar’s father ensured that his son took the game seriously and took him to official training camps.

5. Father’s support:

Axar never enjoyed playing professional cricket. He often bunked his net sessions to play with his friends. It was his father who asked him why he chose to play street cricket despite getting all comforts of professional cricket. His financial condition was bleak but his father still managed to meet all his requirements. This made him take the game seriously.

6. Grandmother’s influence

His grandmother always wanted to see him play for the Indian team. Axar, who was very fond of his grandmother, did make his debut for India, but his grandmother was not there to live the moment. She passed away when he was toiling hard in the district leagues. He could not attend her funeral too since he was in the middle of a tour match then.

7. An end too soon?

When Axar was picked up to play for the U19 state team of Gujarat, he hurt his leg. He was ruled out for all the matches that season. Such severe was the pain that Axar almost gave a thought of quitting the game.

8. Cricket to keep oneself fit!

Yet another reason why Axar played cricket was because he could not be efficient at the gym. He looked physically weak, which worried his parents. Albeit he joined the gym, but he did not enjoy his stint. So in order to keep himself fit, he played cricket.

9. Role model:

As a young cricketer, Axar idolized Yuvraj Singh. No wonder we can actually see a lot of resemblance between the two players.

10. Education:

Axar Patel is a student of Mechanical engineering in Dharmsinh Desai University in Nadiad, Gujarat.

11. One for the place:

His success at the top level has now made Nadiad a visible town on the cricket map. More facilities are being provided and a lot of investment is made by the Gujarat Cricket Association to ensure more players from the town get access to the game.

12. Playing style:

He plays as an all-rounder for the Gujarat cricket team and for the Indian National Team. He is a left-hand batsman and slow left-arm orthodox bowler.

13. Domestic debut:

Axar’s made his first-class debut against Madhya Pradesh in 2012. He tasted success in the second game against Delhi when he picked up 6/55. This was the only game that he played in his debut season.

14. Following it up with a better one:

In the 2013-14 season, he had an improved show and he was one of the consistent performers for Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy, finishing the season with 369 runs at an average of 46.12 and 29 wickets at 23.58 and ended as the team’s third highest wicket-taker.

15. IPL contract:

Axar received an IPL contract from Mumbai Indians in 2013. Surprisingly, though, he could not get a single match under his belt and was picked up by Kings XI Punjab in the following year.

16. IPL success:

He was clinical with his all-round performance in the IPL 2014 and that was instrumental in Kings XI Punjab show as they ended the tournament as runner-up. He had 17 wickets to his name that year in the IPL.

17. U19 exploits:

He was a phenomenal player at the age group levels. He was instrumental in the success of the India U19 team at various tournaments played in 2013-14 season. He was awarded the U19 Player of the Year in 2014.

18. ACC Emerging Players:

He was one of the key contributors to India Under-23s’ title win in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup 2013, with 7 wickets, including a four-wicket haul in the semi-final against UAE.

19. Awards and honours:

Axar received the BCCI U19 Cricketer of the Year in 2014. He also was named the Emerging Player of the tournament in IPL 7.

20. A hush-hush Indian team call-up:

Axar Patel was in Rohtak, preparing for the domestic competition’s season opener Duleep Trophy game, when he heard about his inclusion in the Indian team for the final two ODIs against West Indies.

21. A dramatic turnaround:

A year prior to his inclusion in the national side, Axar Patel was trying hard to cement his place in the state team of Gujarat. Things turned so dramatically in a year that he was called up to represent the national side.

22. ODI debut:

Axar was rewarded with a place in the Indian ODI squad for the tour to Bangladesh and made his ODI debut in the first match of series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and took 1/59 runs.

23. MoM on T20I debut:

He made his Twenty20 International debut for India against Zimbabwe on 17 July 2015. India defeated Zimbabwe in the match by 54 runs and Axar finished with the figures of 4-0-17-3 which earned him the Man of the Match award.

24. Series against Sri Lanka and the World Cup call:

He was also a part of the 15-man squad for the 5-match series against Sri Lanka where he played in all 5 matches and took 11 wickets and made 31 runs at a strike rate of 178. Subsequently, he was also named in the 15-man squad for the World Cup as well. He did not get a game though in the tournament where India lost to Australia in the semi-final.

25. The stand out performance:

Axar Patel took 4 wickets without conceding a run in six overs on the fourth day in Wayanad in 2015, spinning South Africa A out for 76 in 31.4 overs and securing a victory for India A by an innings and 81 runs. His figures of 6-6-0-4 remain to be one of the stand out performances in his career.