‘Emerging Player of the Year’ across the 10 seasons of the IPL

2014: Axar Patel (Kings XI Punjab)

Axar is a useful T20 cricketer who can both bat and bowl

In 2014, King XI Punjab were a totally different team. They seemed to have found their lingo as Maxwell and Miller bludgeoned their way into the finals. Even as Saha scored a century in the final, they went down to KKR, ending as runners up. Their find of the season was undoubtedly Gujarat-born left-arm orthodox bowler Axar Patel.

In the 17 matches that Punjab played, Axar picked up 17 wickets at a more than impressive economy rate of 6.23. He was awarded for his performance, first with the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ award and then a maiden call up to the Indian ODI squad the same year. He was also a part of the squad that participated in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia.

Since then, Axar has been an almost regular in the Indian limited-overs setup. He is also a useful lower-order batsman. The 24-year-old is a disciplined bowler and looks to have taken up the role played by Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian side.

Being the only retention for Punjab prior to the 2018 IPL auction underlines the value he brings to the team.