Bowling in the PowerPlay and death overs, batting at No. 4, sometimes within the first six overs, and taking stunning catches on the boundary line—Axar Patel (30) did it all in the recent World Cup. He was an impact player in every sense of the word in India’s successful campaign, providing crucial and timely breakthroughs with his left-arm spin and scoring vital runs with his power hits for Rohit Sharma’s side. In an exclusive interview with Cricbuzz, Patel relived some of the seminal moments of the tournament, which concluded just over a fortnight ago on a gloomy evening in Barbados.
**The Winning Feeling: Reality or Euphoria?**
“The feeling continues to linger, and I believe it will stay until the next match. It’s a lifetime emotion,” Patel remarked when asked if the winning feeling has sunk in. He added, “There will be another World Cup, and we may win that too, but nothing can match this sense of high. We won the World Cup after 13 years. I watched the 2011 final as a spectator. Winning this World Cup as a player is an incomparable emotion and hard to explain. There are happy vibes all around, and it feels great to be part of a champion side. It gives a sense of pleasure and fulfillment knowing that you have given something to the country and the fans.”
**Recollecting the Final Moments:**
“It all started in the final over (19.5) when Kagiso Rabada got out. We knew we had won the match. At that moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything else. When Hardik Pandya ran in to bowl, we began celebrating. I remember running straight to Rohit Sharma, who was on the ground, and we started hugging each other. After that, everything felt surreal; we were high on emotions,” he recounted.
Patel described how overwhelmed he felt during his live interview post-match. “I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t realize what I was saying as we jumped around. Dinesh Karthik asked me some questions, and I had no idea what I told him. When I watched that interview later, it was like ‘hey what did I blabber there’. I was speaking in a daze. We were on a different planet.”
**The Road from Injury to Triumph:**
Patel faced a significant setback when he was injured and missed the 2023 World Cup. Reflecting on his journey, he shared, “When the T20 World Cup was in Dubai in 2021, Hardik Pandya was injured, and Shardul Thakur stepped in. Before the 2023 World Cup, I got injured and was out of the squad. R Ashwin took my place. After winning the World Cup in the West Indies, I realized I had been too hard on myself for asking that existential question of why it always seemed to happen to me. Evidently, God had different plans for me. He wanted me to be part of a World Cup-winning side.”
“Yes, those seven months between the 2023 World Cup and now were very hard, but I learned to focus on what I could control and work on getting better. I concentrated on my rehab and my skills. During the IPL and just before the team selection, I was asked about my World Cup chances. My reply was that I focused on one day at a time and wasn’t thinking about the World Cup. That approach has worked for me. Now here we are as world champions,” he stated.
**Batting Position and Match Dynamics:**
Patel’s versatile role required him to adapt to various batting positions. “Against Pakistan I was sent up the order. Before the match, I was told that I may have to bat early if there are early wickets. At that time I was nervous. In the nets I did not practise with the new ball and suddenly I was having to play in PowerPlay. My IPL experience came in handy and it made me feel positive. For Delhi Capitals I batted a few times in the PowerPlay overs and played a few crucial knocks too,” he explained.
He detailed his approach against Pakistan: “That helped me understand what to do in those situations. I had to be positive and not worry about who would be bowling to me. I was not trying to overthink. And I knew that I had the game to play according to the situation. I just wanted to stay in the present. That worked for me against Pakistan.”
**Defining Partnerships and Crucial Knocks:**
Patel elaborated on his vital knock in the final, “Rohit bhai was standing beside me when Rishabh Pant got out. He told me ‘Axar pads pehen le’. After that (Yuzvendra) Chahal came running to tell me that Rahul (Dravid) Bhai wants me to pad up. When I was padding up I did not know what to do. We were two wickets down and I had still not analyzed the pitch.
. Next I saw Suryakumar (Yadav) also got out. Things happened so suddenly that I did not have time to think. When I was going down the staircase, Hardik told me in Gujarati not to take any stress. ‘Just watch the ball and hit the ball,’ he said, and it stuck with me.”
His conversation with Virat Kohli during their partnership was enlightening, “I hit a boundary off the first ball I faced. I became very confident. I spoke to Virat bhai and he kept guiding me. He said, ‘I’m there. If you think that you can hit, then go for it.’ The constant communication was helpful. The rest is history.”
**Handling High-Pressure Situations:**
“I feel that high-pressure situations suit me; maybe they align with my personality. When I’m sent in under pressure, I think I handle myself well. Such situations seem to bring out the best in me,” Patel said confidently.
Reflecting on his performances, he stated, “If you look at my career over the past year and a half, I’ve performed well in all the pressure situations. I’ve bowled in the PowerPlay and secured breakthroughs, whether in the World Cup or bilateral games. Two years ago, I played an innings against the West Indies where we needed about 100 runs in 10 overs, and I finished the match.”
**Bowling Strategies in Changing Conditions:**
Adapting to different conditions and strategies, particularly in the USA and West Indies, was crucial for Patel. “In the USA, conditions weren’t favorable for spinners; they were seam-friendly. So, I had to push the ball very hard. Floating the ball in the air was out of the question. I had to be very accurate, bowling stump to stump, which is also my strength,” he shared.
“In the West Indies, the wickets were very slow, with low bounce on some grounds. The conditions varied from venue to venue,” Patel explained. “In the game against Australia in St. Lucia, the wicket was good, and one side was windy, so most of the runs came from that side. I bowled according to my plan and the batsmen.”
**Memorable Wickets and Catches:**
Recalling his favorite dismissals from the World Cup, Patel said, “My personal favorite was the first wicket against England in the semifinal, getting Jos Buttler out. The second was clean bowling Jonny Bairstow, and the third was dismissing Marcus Stoinis against Australia. The Buttler wicket stands out for me because of what happened in the 2022 World Cup.”
When asked about the stunning catch on the boundary line to dismiss Mitch Marsh, Patel attributed it to both practice and luck. “Of course, we practice such catches regularly. We do a lot of drills for boundary line catches, and our fielding coach always emphasized practicing difficult catches. But it’s not guaranteed that every catch you practice in the nets will stick in a match,” he admitted.
**The Influence of Tennis Ball Cricket:**
“You could say that,” Patel answered when asked about the influence of tennis ball cricket on his career. He explained, “Playing tennis ball cricket had an impact on my hitting ability because in that format, you can hit almost every ball for a six or a four, especially in short 10-12 over games.”
He added, “Tennis ball cricket also taught me how to handle pressure. Growing up, I often found myself in pressure situations, which made me more stable and stronger mentally. I learned to stay calm and think positively, which has been invaluable in my career.”
**Roles and Goals Moving Forward:**
Discussing his role alongside fellow left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, Patel noted, “I was clear about my role, knowing that I had to bowl in the PowerPlay. They made it clear that I could be called upon to bowl at any point in the innings, so I needed to be prepared for all situations.”
On the topic of future innovations and goals, Patel emphasized simplicity: “I’ve experimented with shots like the lap shot during practice and tried carrom ball too. However, in high-pressure situations, I simplify things by asking myself a critical question: ‘If I had to bowl one ball in this pressure moment, what should it be?’ I found my answer: ‘I need to rely on my best deliveries, the ones I excel at’.”
**The Impact of Captain Rohit Sharma:**
Reflecting on Sharma’s captaincy, Patel was effusive in his praise: “Rohit Sharma is a brilliant captain. If you observed his captaincy during the World Cup, you wouldn’t find a set formula. In some games, I bowled two overs in the PowerPlay, while in others, Jasprit Bumrah bowled early. There wasn’t a specific pattern.”
He continued, “Rohit had done his homework. Throughout the World Cup, he brought out the best in each player. The captain-bowler equation is typically decided during team meetings and he encourages us to stick with what works best for us without overthinking.”
Patel concluded with a final note on Sharma’s support: “In the final, when Heinrich Klaasen was aggressive against me, Rohit approached me and reassured me, saying, ‘It’s alright. You bowled your best. If he hits a good shot, there’s not much you can do. Just focus on the next ball.’ His support and encouragement boosted my confidence, and such conversations from your captain lift you and keep you motivated on the field.”