Axar Patel made headlines on Friday, September 2, 2022, when replaced Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian squad at the Asia Cup 2022. Jadeja ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury, which helped Patel, who was put in the reserves for the tournament, get a chance.

Who is Axar Patel?

Axar Patel is an Indian international cricket player and an all-rounder. The left-handed batsman and slow left-arm bowler was purchased by the Delhi Capitals for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Axar Rajeshbai Patel was born in Nadiad, Gujarat on January 20, 1994.  Patel appeared in just one first-class game for Gujarat in his debut season but had a more successful season in 2013.  

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The left-arm spinner, who is primarily a bowling all-rounder, signed his first IPL deal with the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2013 season. With 7 wickets, including a four-for in the semi-final against the UAE, he was one of the key contributors to India Under-23s’ title win in the 2013 ACC Emerging Teams Cup. 

In June 2014, Patel made his ODI debut against Bangladesh. He was chosen among India’s 15 man squad for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which was held in Australia and New Zealand. 

In 2014, he was bought by Kings XI Punjab for the Indian Premier League. He remained with the same team for the 2015 IPL season. In a match against the Gujarat Lions, he took four wickets in five balls, along with the first hat-trick of the 2016 IPL season, paving the way for Kings XI Punjab’s win. Kings XI Punjab signed him for the 2018 season.   

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Patel was named to the India Red team’s squad for the 2019–20 Duleep Trophy in August 2019. In the same year, in October, he was appointed to India C’s squad for the 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy.

In February 2021, he made his test debut for India against England and took 7 wickets. He was the ninth bowler to take a five-wicket haul as a debutant in Test cricket.