Playing for your country in an ICC event such as the ODI World Cup is a dream for any professional cricketer, especially for those who were close to being selected but missed out due to bad luck.
Star all-rounder Axar Patel was set to play for India in the ODI World Cup 2023, but an unexpected injury prevented him from participating. He suffered a strain in his left quadriceps muscle.
Axar got hurt during India’s final Super Four match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup held in Sri Lanka. As a result, Ravichandran Ashwin took his place in the team for the big tournament.
In a conversation with Cricbuzz, Axar shared that he felt very upset when he got hurt and couldn’t play, but that time helped him learn important lessons in his career. He understood that he shouldn’t worry about things he couldn’t change.
During the T20 World Cup in Dubai in 2021, Hardik Pandya was injured, so Shardul Thakur took his place. Then, before the 2023 World Cup, Axar got injured and couldn’t be in the team, so R Ashwin replaced him.
Axar said, “After we won the World Cup in the West Indies, I realized I was being too hard on myself for asking why bad things always seemed to happen to me. Clearly, God had other plans for me. He wanted me to be part of the winning World Cup team.”
He added, “The seven months between the 2023 World Cup and now were really tough, but I learned to concentrate on what I could control and worked on improving myself.”
“I focused on my recovery and improving my abilities. When the IPL was happening and right before the team was chosen, they asked me about my chances for the World Cup. I said I was taking things one day at a time and wasn’t worrying about the World Cup. That way of thinking has been good for me. Now, we’re here as the World champions “, he said .
