Axar Patel hopeful of young Indian side to excel against Australia in T20I series

VISAKHAPATNAM: India all-rounder Axar Patel remains hopeful of the young Indian side performing well in the five-match T20I series Australia which begins on Thursday.

Axar missed the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 owing to injury. However, he’s back in the side for the five-match T20 series against Australia, starting in Visakhapatnam.

Speaking to JioCinema post the practice session on Wednesday, Axar highlighted the expectations from the series against Australia

“Everyone knows that we suffered a heartbreak in the World Cup final. But it’s time to move on. We have a young team that will play Australia in the T20Is. All of us are keen to prove that we belong here. There’s a lot of energy in the team. It’s just that we have only 10-11 T20 international matches to go before the T20 World Cup to make an impression. So, all of us have been told to play according to our strengths,” said Axar.

"There’s no need for us to do something brand new. We have been told to express ourselves and move ahead. We have five matches against Australia and all of us know that they are a good side. We are not going to put ourselves under undue pressure. We will try and enjoy the games we play,” he added.

The all-rounder was named in the initial 15-member World Cup squad before suffering a left quadriceps injury in the match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2023 which saw him being replaced by Ravichandran Ashwin, who managed to play only his first league game against Australia.

After making his return to the cricketing action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023, Axar's mindset remains the same after returning from injury.

“The mindset remains the same as what it was before I had to miss the World Cup due to injury. But I am fit again and am keen on doing well in all departments of the game. I have not made any changes and am focussing on the processes. I don’t want to make much changes to my mindset. I am not looking at this series from the view that I am among the senior players in the team now. I just want to continue doing what I was before the injury,” he concluded.