TimesofIndia.com in Mumbai: In April 2024, on the sidelines of a Delhi Capitals event in the national capital, Axar Patel was asked about his chances of making it to the T20 World Cup. “Aapko toh maloom hai ki main har World Cup se pehle injured ho jaata hoon (You guys know my history, I get injured before every World Cup),” pat came the reply from the India all-rounder. It brought a smile to everyone’s lips but after a while, when it sank in, one could sense the pain behind Axar’s comment.Axar’s childhood friend Keval Patel bursts into laughter while sharing the text he sent his buddy after the 32-year-old injured his bowling finger attempting a return catch in the first T20I against New Zealand.
“Maine usko message kar diya tha ki bhai dhyaan se, abhi World Cup hai, bahut lamba cricket hai (laughs). I messaged him to be careful, the World Cup is ahead, and there is a lot of cricket,” Keval tells TimesofIndia.com from Nadiad in Gujarat.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Behind the laughter, one could sense the tension that had gripped Axar’s close circle back home. Keval had seen a similar script unfold in 2023 when Axar got injured and missed the ODI World Cup at home. And he was not ready for another heartbreak.The absolute low of 2023 was followed by a dream run for Axar as he featured in the title-winning 2024 T20 World Cup squad, played a stellar knock in the final, and followed it up with a Champions Trophy title in 2025.
Axar Patel with his childhood friend Keval Patel (Special Arrangements)
In between, Axar became a father with the arrival of ‘Chota Patel’. Axar and his wife were blessed with a baby boy in December 2024 and, in Keval’s words, the toddler is the heartbeat of the entire clan. A group that once spent its time playing PlayStation now spends it with Haksh.“Hum jaise pehle baithte the, abhi bhi waise hi baithte hai. Abhi wo chota Patel ko leke aata hai to usme zyaada time chala jaata hai. Hum ab chotu ke saath hi khelte rehte hai (We still sit the same way, but now Axar brings his son along and all the time goes there. We keep playing with him),” says Keval.While Axar’s close circle has watched many of his games from the stands, it will be a World Cup debut of sorts for his son. Keval plans to take ‘Chotu’ to the ground for one of the matches.“Maine bahut match dekhe hai. Chotu ne bhi Delhi Capitals ka IPL match dekha hai. But is baar World Cup mein ‘Chota Patel’ ka entry hoga. Abhi kaunsa match dekhna hai, wo decide nahi hua hai, but Axar ko bol diya hai ki hum saath mein match dekhne aayenge (I have watched many matches. ‘Chotu’ has also watched a Delhi Capitals IPL game. But this time, it will be his first World Cup. We haven’t decided which match yet, but Axar knows we will be there together),” Keval shares.Axar flies under the radar most of the time, but his contributions with both bat and ball make him an integral part of the side. He remains the underrated cog in a star-studded Indian line-up. Brick by brick, the 32-year-old has grown in stature. He is the captain of Delhi Capitals and the deputy to Suryakumar Yadav in India’s T20I set-up.“Axar has been with us since 2019. He is an excellent reader of the game. He is a fun-loving character who keeps things light, but not many have noticed his game-reading skills and the way he thinks about cricket,” Venugopal Rao, Delhi Capitals’ director of cricket, tells this outlet.
Axar Patel of Delhi Capitals plays a shot during the 2025 IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium on April 29, 2025, in Delhi, India. (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images)
Rao also revealed how Axar won the captaincy race despite the presence of experienced campaigners like Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul.“When captaincy was discussed, Rahul was there and Faf was there, but everyone was convinced about Axar because even the Indian team had started taking note of his leadership abilities,” says Rao.Rao’s first meeting with Axar came when the all-rounder was making waves in the age-group circuit for Gujarat and was known as the “Jayasuriya of Nadiad” because of his strokeplay.He recalls a fascinating episode from the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season, when Axar was thrown into the deep end in a crucial fixture against Delhi. Rao and then Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel, agreed on the need to include a left-arm spinner against a star-studded Delhi batting line-up featuring Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia.“I remember discussing it with Parthiv. We knew Axar from the age-group circuit and felt a left-arm spinner was essential. I scored a hundred, Parthiv got a half-century, but it was Axar who stood out. He took six wickets in the first innings and made vital runs to give us the first-innings lead,” Rao recalls.
Axar Patel of India bats during game four of the T20 International Series between Australia and India at People First Stadium on November 06, 2025 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The performance did not go unnoticed. Axar was picked by the Punjab Kings at the IPL auction and soon earned a national call-up. Months later, he made his ODI debut for India against Bangladesh in June 2014.“He made an immediate impact. He did well against a strong Delhi side and got his rewards. There was no looking back after that,” Rao adds.From the teenager Rao saw in 2013 to the match-winner he has worked with at Delhi Capitals, much has changed. Yet, much has remained the same. Axar has matured significantly, but his mantra of keeping things simple remains intact.“With the greatest cricketers, it’s about how simple they keep things. Axar has mastered that and has only matured with time,” explains Rao.
India’s Axar Patel during a visit at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, in Thiruvananthapuram.
Back in Nadiad, little has changed. He is still the same Axar Keval grew up with. Having lived through the highs and lows of his childhood friend’s career, Keval says one thing has never changed: Axar’s humility.“Bahut hi down-to-earth banda hai. Kuch bhi change nahi hua hai. Field ke bahar wo wahi Axar hai jo pehle tha(He is very down-to-earth. Nothing has changed. Outside the cricket field, he is still the same Axar as before),” says Keval.During the 2023 ODI World Cup, Axar was confined to watching matches on television. His friends sensed the turmoil he must have been going through. Their plan was simple: PlayStation, card games and plenty of laughter to keep his spirits up.“Hum jaante the wo andar se bahut dukhi hoga. Itna bada stage hai. Hum log roz saath baithte the aur usko distracted rakhte the. Pura din saath rehte the (We knew he was sad on the inside. It was a huge stage. We would sit everyday and distract him),” Keval says.
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Axar carries the air of someone who has endured more than his share of misfortune. For over a decade, he has lived in Ravindra Jadeja’s shadow and missed major tournaments due to injuries. Yet, his tenacity has kept him going. A self-made cricketer, he has squeezed every ounce of his talent.He has won ICC titles, but this time, he will have a new supporter in ‘Chota Patel’ cheering from the stands. Axar now has the task of making his son’s first World Cup memorable by helping India lift the trophy once again.
