Indian cricketer Axar Patel interacts with the media during a training session ahead of 1st T20 match of the series against England at Eden Garden in Kolkata, West Bengal, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (PTI Photo)
With the Surya Kumar Yadav-led Indian T20 side facing England in the first T20I at Kolkata on Wednesday, the Indian cricket team will start their cricketing journey with the T20I format. While the Indian cricket team last played a T20I on November 15, 2024, during the four match T20I series in South Africa which the team won 3-1, the reigning T20 World champions will look to start the year on a high. With the next T20 World Cup happening next year in India and Sri Lanka , newly appointed Indian t20 vice-captain Axar Patel believes the Indian T20 team’s main target is to carry the momentum of last year forward.
“Obviously, the target is to give our best in whatever number of matches we get to play. Obviously, the T20 World Cup will happen in one year’s time and our focus will be on what we can try during that time. How do we want to play or how do we don’t want to play and how the approach should be. The target is to try what we plan to do right now. Obviously momentum is a big thing and we always think that if you start good then the momentum is carried forward. Whatever has happened in the past, we talk of what positives we can take from that and look ahead. And then the talk is about what led to the team getting all the success,” said Parel while addressing the media at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
With the Indian Test team suffering a 1-3 series loss in the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia earlier this month, there has been a lot of talk of transition in the Indian cricket team. While Rohot Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from the T20I format after India’s title in last year’s T20 World Cup, Patel has been part of Indian teams across the three formats in recent years with the Australia Test series being an exception. When asked about the transition phase, Patel shared that his focus is on doing things according to his role and justifying that. “I have played in all the three formats and I have proven what should be done and what should not be done. Whenever I get the opportunity, my aim is to do well. I don’t take the pressure of being part of the team or not. If my place is not there in the team combination, then my focus is on how I can contribute to the team and what can I do to achieve that. If I did not get a place in the team for Australia, I don’t think about why I was not selected. That would be selectors and captain’s call. My mindset always is that I don’t have to prove it to anybody. If a role is given to me, my focus will be how to fulfill that role and to make it better whether it’s batting or bowling,” said Patel.
With a lot of talk happening about the role of support staff in recent days post the debacle in Australia, Patel shared that their role is clear and the players too understand that. “It is very clear to us. I was not with the team in the last two and half months so I don’t have the idea of Australia. But now I have returned and the support staff is almost the same. It’s the same kind of atmosphere and things are clear. Whatever the player wants, we talk to them. The talk with the batting coach is what more we can do or what we don’t need to do. T20 is a fast format and the talk is about what’s the role of the player or what’s not at those exact moments. So that talk is about that only,” said Patel.
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