Axar keen to perform well in all formats

A total of 32 wickets in only seven Test innings is no mean feat and India’s Axar Patel said that the secret of his success lies in enjoying his craft and believing that he can’t be ‘pigeon-holed’ as a T20 specialist.

The left-arm spinner took 5 wickets for 62 runs on the third day to bring India back in the first Test against New Zealand here. “Whenever I have played first-class cricket or for India ‘A’, I have done well. I have never seen myself as a white-ball specialist,” Axar, in the postday press conference, made it clear that he doesn’t like being bracketed.

For the left-arm orthodox bowler from Gujarat, it is all in the mind. “It is all in the mind-set as to what you perceive yourself as – a white-ball specialist or red-ball specialist. I always had the belief that whenever I get a chance, I will do well. I will give credit to my teammates for having faith in me. I have been able to stand up to their expectations,” said Axar. But, does he feel extra pressure when two world-class spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are also in the eleven?

“Whenever I go to the ground, I enjoy and not think about whether Ashwin and Jaddu are there. When I have the ball in my hand, I just try and see to it that I am enjoying my bowling, reading the wicket and understanding what is happening and how it is behaving. I then plan accordingly,” he elaborated. “I don’t think whether my role is a lead one or whether there are senior bowlers around me. I only think about my bowling and what is required to be done in a spell.”

‘Rahane and Dravid stayed calm’

Axar is happy that stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Rahul Dravid helped in keeping a calm dressing room when the team did not get wickets. “If you don’t get a wicket for 67 overs, it is tough. But, the dressing room was calm as Ajju bhai and Rahul sir kept a calm environment. We got the reward for our persistence,” signed off Axar.