T20 World Cup selection not on my mind now, says Axar Patel

An injury ruled Axar Patel out of the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup after that. He was initially named in the World Cup squad at home but an injury ensued Ravichandran Ashwin took his spot for the 10-team event. However since then, the left-arm spinner has returned to the Indian fold - first in the T20I series against Australia and on Thursday (January 11) showed his class in the first T20I against Afghanistan picking up a couple of wickets.

With the T20 World Cup less than five months away, Axar believes that there is plenty of cricket to be played till then and selection is certainly not on his mind.

“There is competition, but it depends on how you take it. It is important to focus on the process. You can’t think about the T20 World Cup from now since there are five Tests against England, followed by the IPL. So, there’s some time left for the T20 World Cup,” Axar said after India's six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Mohali.

Axar reveals that he looked to add new dimensions to his bowling when he was at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) undergoing rehabilitation for his injury. 

“It was an unfortunate injury, but it was not the first time I was injured. My mindset during the rehab was to ensure how I could improve my game. At the NCA, I worked a lot on my bowling. I have worked consciously to add 5 to 10 per cent in my bowling,” he said.

The left-arm spinner also says that his focus is not to keep the runs down but is more focused on picking up wickets in the T20 format. “I am not thinking about the economy anymore. My mindset is how can I attack more. I have got the confidence… more about taking wickets than bowling economically,” the 29-year-old said.

Speaking of the pitch in Mohali, Axar, who got the wickets of Rahamullah Gurbaz and Rahmat Shah said that there was no assistance for the bowlers and also the cold weather conditions did not make it any easier. “There was no help from the pitch, the weather was also very harsh. My aim was to stick to my strength and wait for the batters to go after me,” he said. 

“I bowled a tight line and got the wickets as the batters took a chance. As a bowler, you can’t do much on this pitch."

India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the win in Mohali. They will look to wrap up the series in the second T20I, which will take place in Indore on Sunday (January 14).