“I didn’t care about spin bowling,” Axar Patel says candidly about his switch from pacer to spinner

Axar Patel disclosed that Sanjay Patel, the coach of his Under-16 team, advised him to change from being a pacer to a spinner because of his incorrect biomechanics.

The left-arm spinner was crucial to India’s victory in the T20 World Cup last month. At a strike rate of 14.66 and an average of 19.22, he claimed nine wickets in eight games. Axar also had a respectable economy rate of 7.86. With numbers of 3/23 in the semifinal match versus England, he was declared Player of the Match. Axar was elevated to No. 5 and made significant contributions with the bat as well; his 31-ball 47 against South Africa in the finals was the highlight.

Axar Patel talked candidly about how, with the help of his coach, he changed from being a fast bowler to a spinner in a recent interview.

The 30-year-old admitted that he only picked up spin bowling because he used to get bored when fielding, not because he was interested in the sport.

I still don’t always understand how I became into a spin bowler. When I was a fast bowler in the U-16 league in Kheda, my coach, Sanjay Patel, suggested that I switch to spinning since there was a problem with my biomechanics. Spin bowling piqued no interest of mine. I used to get bored fielding, but I was more interested in hitting. In an interview with the Indian Express, he remembered, “So just to get those overs quickly, I started bowling spin and started taking wickets as well.”

The Anand native attributed his improvement as a spin bowler to the assistance of former India left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju.

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“Venkatapathy Raju sir was at NCA when I went, and he was more confident in my bowling than I had ever been.” Axar stated, “He is the one who has helped me improve my bowling and taught me the subtleties of spin bowling.”

India’s squads for the forthcoming white-ball trip of Sri Lanka include Axar. His goal is to improve upon his outstanding performance from the T20 World Cup. Three T20Is and an equal number of ODIs are scheduled for the Men in Blue in the Island Nation. At the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Saturday, July 27, the first Twenty20 International of the trip will take place.