'My Name Isn't In The Squad,' - Axar Patel Opens Up About His Snub From IND vs SA T20Is
Axar Patel [Ap photos]
When the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced India’s squad for the 2023 World Cup, Axar Patel was part of the 15 members. However, an injury, days after the announcement, forced him to be ruled out of the tournament. Veteran spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, later, replaced him in the squad.
There is no denying that representing your nation in a World Cup is the biggest dream for any cricketer. The Indian spinner was on course to realize that dream, however, an untimely injury led to a massive disappointment.
Here's what he said:
"Obviously, you are bound to be (disappointed). The World Cup was in India, but that injury happened. For the first few days, I was thinking about it, not being able to play due to injury,"
“But, the team was doing well, so after 5-10 days, I was back to training and was doing my rehab. But, yes, when you are out due to injury and those 5-10 days you are not able to do anything, you do feel a bit bad. After that, I returned to routine life.”
The Indian spinner came up with a stellar spell of 3 for 16 runs in his 4 overs in the recent fourth T20I against Australia, which also helped India claim the series. When asked the reason behind his brilliant performance, Patel said:
“This is not in my hands. You're saying I got fired up because my name isn't in the squad, but it can also be the opposite... if I had bowled poorly, you would have said I was upset! So, it goes both ways. It wasn't anything like that, I was normal. Squad selection wasn't in my mind, I had been giving my best all this time. It isn't my decision, it's the selector's decision. I was only following the processes that I followed in past 3 games.”
The fifth and final T20I between India and Australia is scheduled to be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
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