"After BGT 2023-24, my batting improved": Axar Patel after Champions Trophy clash against New Zealand

Dubai [UAE], March 3 (ANI): After registering a win over New Zealand in the last group stage match of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at Dubai on Sunday, star India all-rounder Axar Patel reflected that his batting performance in 2023-24 Border-Gavaskar Trophy has helped him improve in the batting.
Axar had a good day in the match with both bat and bowl. In the first innings, the Men in Blue were struggling at 30/3 in 6.4 overs when the left-hand batter came out to bat in the middle along with Shreyas Iyer.
Both batters stitched a partnership of 98 runs from 136 balls before Axar was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 42 runs off 61 balls, which came with the help of three fours and a six. With the ball in the second innings, the left-arm spinner took one wicket and gave away just 32 runs in his 10-over spell.
"I think when you get an opportunity, you can look at the situation and do your batting. That's what I am doing. When I get an opportunity, I try to do my batting according to the team's need and situation," Axar Patel told the media after the match.
"When I used to go down, I had to make runs early. It depends on the situation. The plus point is that I know that there are more batsmen behind me. I can play accordingly. When I go up, it also depends on the situation. I don't have 10 overs or 5 overs. I know that I have a lot of time. I can take my time. The way the team requires me, if I feel that I have to attack the spinner, I play accordingly," the Gujarat-born cricketer added.
Further, the 31-year-old cricketer said that his batting has got better from the 2023-24 season of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
"I think after my BGT 2023-24 performance, my batting improved. In WI ODIs (during 2022), it helped my confidence. I realised that I could finish the games. I was working hard earlier but not clicking. I was giving myself pressure mentally. I later realised it would be better and I'd give my 100 per cent if I play freely and do not think much. When you are confident, you do not think much, you go with the flow," Axar Patel added.
Axar slammed three fifty-plus scores in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 and finished in third position on the highest-run-getters list with 264 runs, only behind Usman Khawaja (333 runs) and Virat Kohli (297 runs). Axar also managed to pick three wickets in the four-match series.
In the ODI series against West Indies (2022), Axar smashed 85 runs in the two innings at a strike rate of 151.78 at at an average of 85 with the best score in the seies being 64*.
Axar Patel has shown good form while batting at number 5. From 2016, Axar has batted at number five on seven occassions where he has managed to score 227 runs at a strike rate of 90.43 and at an average of 37.83 with one half century and best score of 52.
Recently, in the ODI series against England, he scored a crucial 52 runs off 47 balls in one match and a valuable unbeaten 41 runs in another. (ANI)