Many expected a sedate start when Gujarat openers Urvil Patel and Aarya Desai walked out to bat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024/25 quarter-final against defending champions Haryana. However, Urvil threw caution to the wind, smashing a six and three back-to-back fours in the second over. This is an example of the fearlessness and confidence that all-rounder Axar Patel has infused into Gujarat’s batting, according to the team’s captain Chintan Gaja.
“Our batting department used to struggle two to three years back because there was a lack of confidence among the players. Axar has infused belief in the camp and made the players feel secure by backing them through thick and thin. Urvil started off with a six against a pacer in the VHT quarter-final which is an example of the confidence we didn’t see earlier. Every player enjoys the utmost freedom to express. Axar told the players to be fearless in hitting sixes. The overall game awareness of players has also improved,” said Gaja in an interaction with TOI.
Axar’s influence extends well beyond the team’s batting and has personally impacted Gaja’s approach as a captain and bowler as well.
“I led Gujarat in the first five VHT 2024/25 matches. Axar took over the role after returning from international duty. In one of the matches, a bowler was not performing well. I remarked that if I was the captain, I would have asked the bowler to focus more. However, Axar simply changed the whole field resulting in the bowler’s next over being a maiden. A player feels more confident when the captain backs in this manner. Axar even helped me remain confident when I was concerned about being unable to convert two or three wickets in a match into a five-wicket haul,” stated Gaja.
“Gujarat had a challenging group in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024/25 comprising teams like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Baroda. Axar made the team believe that we could win in any situation. We managed to defend 134 against Tamil Nadu when targets close to 200 were being chased down,” added the cricketer.
Gujarat batter Priyank Panchal termed Axar’s ability to use common sense “really well” as a rare attribute. Panchal added that Axar simply believes in action rather than talking much.
“He is very open-minded and listens to everyone. Axar is a very funny guy. He tries to simplify tense situations and remains calm even after losses. Axar is someone you can trust and freely approach,” he said.
While the all-rounder is friendly and approachable, he doesn’t shy away from providing blunt feedback when the need arises.
“After we lost a close match against Baroda in SMAT 2024/25, Axar told me that one can’t be predictable in T20s. He asked me to take responsibility as a senior player. Axar usually didn’t speak much earlier but following his return after T20 World Cup 2024, he demanded performances from us, stating that we should focus on delivering more than 100 percent if needed,” said Gujarat’s left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla.
The all-rounder has played a key role in the growth of spinner Siddharth Desai, who recently scripted history in Gujarat’s Ranji Trophy match against Uttarakhand after picking nine wickets in an innings. Desai recorded the best bowling figures in an innings by a Gujarat cricketer in first-class cricket.
“Axar bhai guided me a lot before and after matches. He said, ‘Don’t change anything technically’ and would discuss alternate tactical strategies when I used to struggle to dismiss any batter,” said Desai.