When Axar Patel laboured to 11 off 22 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in New Delhi last Friday, it seemed something was seriously wrong with the Delhi Capitals captain. To make matters more uncomfortable for the spinner all-rounder, India head coach Gautam Gambhir and national selector RP Singh were present at the ground that day.
Before the Knight Riders clash, Axar had aggregated only 33 runs in seven innings, while his numbers with the ball, too, were anything but extraordinary. From that perspective, his 30-ball 56 in the Capitals’ three-wicket win over Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Monday couldn’t have come at a better time for Axar.
From the team’s point of view, the Capitals had to beat the Kings to keep their hopes for a playoffs berth alive. And their skipper, though not bowling a single over, brought about his A-game with the bat in what was a must-win clash.
Irrespective of whether his team qualifies for the playoffs, Axar would like to keep contributing to keep his position in the Indian T20 team safe. But considering how the unsung hero fared in this year’s T20 World Cup, taking 11 wickets from seven matches, it’s actually difficult to dislodge Axar from the T20I scheme of things.
“With SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) struggling continuously, Axar could also be a contender for the (T20I) captain’s post if he performs in the remaining games of this IPL
and his team too finishes well,” a BCCI insider told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
The story, however, is different when it comes to the other two formats.
Lately, in the ODI format, Axar, the senior-most among the current group of Indian spinners after Ravindra Jadeja, hasn’t been a regular, last featuring in the series in Australia late in 2025. As for the longest format, Axar has played just one Test since Gambhir took over as head coach. Off-spinner all-rounder Washington Sundar has been the preferred choice over Axar since the 2024 home series versus New Zealand.
“Given Axar’s experience and his overall performance in all formats, it’s not easy to chuck him out. You still don’t know how much longer Jadeja will continue in international cricket. But yes, in one-dayers, the team management appears to have greater faith in Jadeja’s batting than Axar’s,” the Board insider said.
“Then, Washy’s in the equation as well, while you can’t keep Varun Chakravarthy out of the discussion, especially when Kuldeep (Yadav) is going through a tough phase. There’s still enough time, though, for the ODI World Cup.
“But going back to Axar, the runs he got on Monday should reduce the pressure
on him.”
His runs aside, Axar’s captaincy on Monday, particularly how he handled young, inexperienced seamer all-rounder Madhav Tiwari when the Capitals were bowling, also drew praise.
