Axar Patel, the new star on the block
The Gujarati boy, Axar Patel seems to be having a golden run with the ball. Though, being with India for few years now, he has started amusing and surprising everyone with his bowling display.
In the recently held, India and Australia series, the all-rounder had a major part in the Men in Blue’s 2-1 win over the Aussies. The player scalped 8 wickets in the three games and was declared the Player of the Series for the same.
Now, the focus shifts on the South Africa T20I series, India opening with winning ways and completely dominated the Proteas with their all-round cricket performance. Moreover, in the first meeting also, Patel was superb, he bowled 4 overs for 16 runs with 1 wicket.
After the second T20I at Nagpur against Australia, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had a word with Patel after the match, Chahal called him the dandiya king, “Dandiya bahut famous hain Gujarat mein, aur jis hisaab se dandiya khelta hain, waise stump to stump dalte hain aap.”
The spinner has made the comment in the context of, Axar bowls stump to stump with the ease of performing the dandiya, a folk-dance famous in Gujarat, Patel’s home state, during the Navratri festival.
If Axar Patel continues the momentum, he can be the biggest trump card and asset for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.