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‘When MS Dhoni was mentor…’: Axar Patel credits CSK star for career-changing advice, reveals ‘he told me that…'
Axar Patel started his international career under MS Dhoni's captaincy, and it was the CSK star who made him realise the importance of improving his batting.
Axar Patel has come a long way since garnering national attention due to his breakthrough performance in IPL 2014. From being considered a spinner who can occasionally be handy with the bat, he has become India's senior all-rounder, adept with both ball and bat.
Axar started his international career under MS Dhoni's captaincy, and it was the CSK star who made Axar realise the importance of improving his batting too. Speaking to the Times of India, Axar said, "I started as a batter but became a full-time spinner when I reached the NCA. In my early days I didn’t do well with the bat and started doubting myself."
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“When I got dropped in 2018, I worked very hard on my batting. When MS Dhoni was mentor of the 2021 T20 World Cup team, he told me that in my earlier days, under his captaincy, I put pressure on myself by thinking I had to perform all the time, rather than simply believing that I was a capable batter. Slowly I started implementing what Mahi bhai had told me and I regained my confidence.”
Since Gautam Gambhir took over as India's head coach, India have experimented with their playing XI, permutations, and combinations extensively. It has led to a shuffling of Axar's position in the batting order. Now he bats in around the top order most of the time. "If I’ve been sent up the order, that means the team trusts me and I have the talent to perform this role. When I go out to bat, I don’t think I am a floater. The team management tells me that I’m not sent to blindly accelerate the scoring or play out a difficult spell or target a particular spinner. I am given a role like any other specialist batter," he said.
In the T20 World Cup 2024 final, India lost three wickets inside the first five overs for 34 runs. Axar's 72-run partnership off 54 balls with Virat Kohli was key. He also took a wicket.
