India A vs USA | A massive boost for India ahead of the T20 World Cup
“I told him that brother, be careful, now is the world cup, there is a lot of cricket. (laughter). I told him to be careful, the World Cup is ahead and there is a lot of cricket,” Keval told TimesofIndia.com from Nadiad, Gujarat.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Behind the laughter was the tension that gripped Axar’s tight circle at home. Keval saw a similar scenario unfold in 2023 when Axar got injured and missed the ODI World Cup at home. And he wasn’t ready for another heartbreak.An all-time low in 2023 was followed by a dream run for Axar as he featured in the 2024 T20 World Cup winning 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 arrangement)
Meanwhile, Axar became a father with the arrival of ‘Chota Patel’. Axar and his wife were blessed with a baby boy in December 2024, and according to Keval, the toddler is the heart of the entire clan. The group that once spent time playing PlayStation now spends it with Haksh.“We live as we lived before, we live the same now. Now the consort has come to Patel and spends most of his time there. Now we continue playing with Chotu (We still sit the same, but now Axar brings his son and goes there all the time. We play with him),” says Keval.While Axar’s inner circle watched many of his matches from the stands, this will be his son’s World Cup debut. Keval plans to take ‘Chota’ to the ground for one of the matches.“I saw a lot of matches. Chotu also watched the IPL match of Delhi Capitals. But this time Chota Patel will have participation in the World Cup. Abhi didn’t decide which match to watch but told Axar that we will watch the match together. (I watched many matches. ‘Chotu’ also watched the Delhi Capitals IPL match. 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),” says Keval.Axar flies under the radar most of the time but his contributions with both bat and ball make him an integral part of the team. He remains an underappreciated cog in the star-studded Indian line-up. Brick by brick, the 32-year-old man grew up. He is the Delhi Capitals captain and Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy in India’s T20I squad.“Axar has been with us since 2019. He is a great reader of the game. He is a fun-loving character who keeps things light but not many have noticed his ability to read the game and the way he thinks about cricket,” says Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao.
Axar Patel of Delhi Capitals plays a shot during the IPL 2025 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 veteran batsmen like Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul.“When there was talk of captaincy, Rahul was there and Faf was there, but everyone was confident about Axar because even the Indian team started noticing his leadership skills,” says Rao.Rao’s first encounter 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’ for his stroke play.He recalls a fascinating episode from the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season when Axar was thrown into the deep end in a crucial match against Delhi. Rao and then Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel agreed on the need to bring in the left-armer 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 and felt that left-arm spin was necessary. 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 important runs to give us the lead in the first innings,” recalls Rao.
Axar Patel of India bats during the fourth match of the T20 International series between Australia and India at the People First Stadium on November 6, 2025 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The performance did not go unnoticed. Axar was picked by the Punjab Kings in 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 instant impact. He did well against a strong Delhi side and got his rewards. There was no looking back after that,” adds Rao.From the teenager Rao saw in 2013 to the match-winner he worked with at Delhi Capitals, a lot has changed. However, much remained the same. Axar has matured considerably, but its mantra of simplicity remains intact.“The greatest cricketers are about how simple they keep things. Axar has mastered that and matured with time,” explains Rao.
India’s Axar Patel during a visit to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
Little has changed in Nadiad. It’s still the same one 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.“A very down to earth band. Nothing has changed. The spring field is almost where it was before.(He is very down-to-earth. Nothing has changed. Off the cricket field, he is still the same Axar as before),” says Keval.During the 2023 ODI World Cup, Axar was restricted to watching matches on television. His friends sensed the turmoil he must be going through. Their plan was simple: PlayStation, card games, and lots of laughter to keep his spirits up.“We know she must be very sad to walk. It’s such a big stage. We sit together every day and let them distract us. staying up all day (We knew he was sad inside. It was a huge stage. We sat and distracted him every day),” says Keval.
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Axar carries the air of someone who has endured more than his fair share of misfortune. He lived in Ravindra Jadeja’s shadow for more than a decade, missing major tournaments due to injury. Still, his tenacity kept him going. He is a self-made cricketer and has squeezed out every bit of his talent.He has won ICC titles but this time he will have a new fan from the stands in ‘Chota Patel’. Axar is now tasked with making his son’s first World Cup memorable by helping India lift the trophy again.