Axar Patel's been having a dream run since making his Test debut in the longest format during India's second Test against England in Chennai. He recorded figures of 2/40 and 5/60 in that match before leading India to victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, where he finished with figures of 6/38 and 5/32 as India beat England by 10 wickets in 2 days.
"It feels great. It is only my second match and the first in Motera. I loved it when the crowd chanted 'Axar, Axar!' when I came on to the ground. When the local crowd cheers for you it feels even better because my family was sitting in the stands. I have played all my life in front of them and my coaches," said Patel while being interviewed by Hardik Panyda on a video posted by the BCCI.
Pandya also said in the video that was proud of Patel's performance. "As a friend I can tell you that we have been waiting for Axar's debut for a long time. The way he has made it, we are all very proud of him. It has been all about hard work, patience and honesty which is very important in this sport," he said even as Indian skipper Virat Kohli joined in and said in Gujarati - “ey bapu, tari bowling kamaal che”.
In the longer version of the interview posted on the board’s website, Axar Patel also talked about blocking out negative thoughts when he was out of the team for the past three years.
Patel had already played two ODIs and 11 T20Is for India. However, he had been out of the senior national setup since a T20I against South Africa in Cape Town on February 24, 2018.
"When I was out of the team for the last three years, I was concentrating on what I needed to work on. A lot of people ask why you are not there in the team when you are not selected despite performing so well in the Indian Premier League and for India A," said Patel.
"These questions come to my mind also and so I just think that I will wait for my chance and when I get it I will give it my 100 per cent. My friends and family who helped me over the past two three years, and this includes you (Pandya), all of you have taught me how to tackle problems," he further said.
(With inputs from IANS)
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