Suryakumar Yadav revealed that Axar Patel was “very angry” after he was left out for the Super Eight match against South Africa in Ahmedabad, which India lost. The India captain speaking to The Indian Express said that he had to personally apologise to the allrounder.
Axar had sat out for a group match against the Netherlands due to injury concern. But for the South Africa game to leave him out was a tactical decision with Washington Sundar replacing him. Suryakumar admitted it was a “hard conversation” with Axar after the match.
“He (Axar Patel) was very angry — and he should have been. He’s an experienced player, he leads a franchise. He should be angry,” Suryakumar said.
“I apologised. I told him I made a mistake, and I’m sorry, but it was a call for the team. It was a hard conversation. He took it in his stride and we talked it through the next day.”
On a difficult track in Ahmedabad, India suffered a 76-run defeat to South Africa and the call to drop Axar from the game became the most discussed topic where the team management including Suryakumar were raked over the coals.
India were quick to bring back Axar for the next Super Eight clash against Zimbabwe. The bowling allrounder went on to play a key part in the remaining games including the final.
Axar finished the tournament with 11 wickets from eight matches. In the middle-order he chipped in with valuable runs too. In the semifinal against England, Axar took two outstanding catches that shifted the momentum in India’s favour.
In the final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on March 8, Axar returned excellent figures of three for 27.
