Team India all-rounder Axar Patel opened up about a deeply emotional moment in his life and how he stayed true to a promise he made. Currently touring Australia for the five-match T20I series, Axar shared that his grandmother passed away during one of his matches. Her final wish had been to see him play for India on television.
Learning about her wish became a turning point for him, it motivated Axar to take cricket more seriously and dedicate himself to achieving that dream. He also recalled telling his father that he would honour his grandmother’s last wish by representing the nation.
“My grandmom passed away but I was playing a match so could not come home and my dad did not even tell me so that I could focus. When I came back after two days, he told me and cried a lot. He told me that she wanted to see me on TV and that was her last wish. I became very serious after that incident and decided that it would be my goal that I have to come on TV wearing the blue jersey.”
“I told my dad that even if it is for just one day, I will come on TV wearing the blue jersey and that day came in 2014. Both of us cried a lot that day when I got selected,” he said during a conversation with journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel.
Axar Patel’s Childhood Friend Shares Untold Stories About The Team India Star
Axar Patel’s childhood friend shared that the Indian all-rounder had shown remarkable confidence since his early days. He further revealed that Axar was often nicknamed after Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya because of his similar batting style.
“Axar had the confidence right from when he became captain for the first time against Ahmedabad. He says that he is a bowler, but he is actually a batter. We have seen him. He has scored a lot of runs in many matches. He would bat very well in school tournaments as well, so his school friends named him Jayasuriya and he would play like that too,” he said.
Axar Patel’s childhood friend said he is still humble and down-to-earth, just like before, and always cares for his friends. So far, the 31-year-old all-rounder has played 14 Tests, 71 ODIs, and 82 T20Is for India, scoring over 2,100 runs and taking more than 200 wickets in total.
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