The senior men’s national selection committee has announced the T20I squad for the upcoming home series against England, starting on January 22. The selectors have also named the vice-captain of the team, and he was a hero of the team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Final.

The 30-year-old all-rounder Axar Patel has been named as the T20I vice-captain of the Indian national cricket team. He has played 14 Tests, 60 ODIs, and 66 T20Is, where the left-handed batter scored 646 runs, 568 runs, and 498 runs, respectively. Also, as the left-arm spinner, he picked up 55 Test wickets, 64 ODI wickets, and 65 T20I wickets. 

Although Patel made his international cricket debut in June 2014, the all-rounder has faced many ups and downs and has slowly grown as a key member of the Indian team. In the last few years, he strongly performed for the national team and majorly grabbed his limited opportunities. 

Axar Patel: A key member during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024

While Rohit Sharma-led Team India won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Patel played an important role for his team. The left-arm spinner took nine wickets in the tournament, the left-handed batter scored 92 runs in five innings, including a crucial knock in the Final, and also took four catches, including a stunning catch against Australia to dismiss the dangerous skipper Mitchell Marsh. 

Strong batting at pressure situation in the Final

During the T20 World Cup 2024 Final against South Africa, when India were struggling at 34/3 in the first innings, Patel set a 72-run crucial fourth-wicket partnership with the opener Virat Kohli. His 47 off 31 balls (one four and four sixes) knock eased the massive pressure on Kohli, who won the Player of the Match award for his valuable knock of 76 runs. 

Player of the Match award in Semi-final

In the Semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024, Patel won the Player of the Match award for his incredible bowling effort against England, where India won by 68 runs. The left-arm spinner had bowling figures of 4-0-23-3, as he picked the wickets of skipper Jos Buttler (23), Jonny Bairstow (0), and Moeen Ali (8). In his final over, Liam Livingstone was run out for 11 runs. 

Four Player of the Match awards in T20I since 2023

Since 2023, Patel has scored 327 T20I runs with an average of 25.15 and a strike rate of 147.96 and has taken 31 T20I wickets, the third most T20I wicket-taker for India in this period. During this period, the T20I star won four Player of the Match awards (the second highest by an Indian in this period) and one Player of the Series award. ​