“I was upset, but it’s not in anyone’s hands” - Axar Patel on missing out on the 2023 World Cup due to injury

Team India all-rounder Axar Patel has admitted that he was disappointed and upset after being forced to miss the 2023 ODI World Cup due to injury. He stated that the first five to q0 days after injury were tough, but added that he gradually overcame the disappointment and started focusing on his recovery.

Axar was a key member of the Indian ODI squad in the build-up to the World Cup. However, he was ruled out of the ICC event due to a left quadriceps strain he suffered while playing in the Asia Cup. The 29-year-old was replaced by off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in India’s 15-man World Cup squad.

Axar was Player of the Match for his figures of 3/16 as India beat Australia by 20 runs in the fourth T20I in Raipur on Friday, December 1 to clinch the five-match series 3-1. At a post-match press conference, the left-arm spinner opened up on the disappointment of not playing the World Cup on home soil.

“Obviously, you are bound to be [disappointed]. The World Cup was in India, but that injury happened. For the first few days, I was thinking about it, not being able to play due to injury. But, the team was doing well, so after 5-10 days, I was back to training and was doing my rehab. But yes, when you are out due to injury and those 5-10 days you are not able to do anything, you do feel a bit bad. After that, I returned to routine life,” he said.

“I was upset, but it happened due to an injury; it’s not in anyone’s hands. It’s part and parcel of the game,” Axar added.

India had a terrific run in the 2023 World Cup, winning 10 matches on the trot. However, they failed in the final, going down to Australia by six wickets.

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“You have to start planning for the T20 World Cup from now” - Axar

While Axar missed the bus for the ODI World Cup, he would be hopeful of featuring in the T20 World Cup, which will be played in the United States and West Indies in June 2024.

He asserted that preparations for the same have already begun as India won't play a lot of T20I matches heading into the tournament.

“Our schedule does not have a lot of T20 matches. There are around 9-10 games. You have to start planning and preparing for the T20 World Cup from now. The World Cup is in June, in between there is the IPL as well. The planning is going on; everyone is aware of their roles,” Axar asserted.

“When Rahul [Dravid] sir and the others come back, more detailed discussions will be held, but we knew what to do in this series. There was no confusion,” he concluded.

The 29-year-old has played 49 T20Is for India, claiming 44 wickets at an average of 25.72 and an economy rate of 7.48.