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Axar Patel has picked the perfect time to remind India why he still matters after England ODI originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When it mattered most, Axar Patel delivered against England in the first ODI to give India a timely lift, according to Cricket News columnist Jamie Alter.
For me, of all the Indian cricketers under pressure heading into the first ODI against England at Edgbaston, it was Axar Patel who needed to make the biggest statement.
Not for the fans. Not even for the critics. But for himself, his confidence, and to remind the selectors why he remains an important part of India's white-ball plans.
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In many ways, I felt Axar had more riding on this game than some of his more illustrious team-mates. More than Jasprit Bumrah, returning for his first ODI since the 2023 World Cup final. More than Virat Kohli, back after recovering from the injury he sustained during the IPL final in May. More also than Rohit Sharma, now 39 and enduring a difficult year. And perhaps even more than Shreyas Iyer, whose brief stint as India's T20I captain has come under heavy scrutiny.
The reason is simple: Axar's performances, particularly with the bat, have been on a worrying downward curve.
There was a time when India trusted him so much that he was regularly promoted to No. 5 in both ODIs and T20Is. That role wasn't handed to him because he was a lower-order hitter; it reflected the team's belief that he could control a chase, counter spin and accelerate when required.
That version of Axar has rarely been seen this year. His white-ball batting numbers make for uncomfortable reading. Across 12 T20I innings this year, he averages just 6.27 at a strike-rate of 97.
Stretch the sample across the last two years and the figures improve only marginally — an average of 13.5 and a strike-rate of 114.67.
Even the tactical promotions that once worked so well have gradually lost their impact. Scores of 27, 26, 17, 23 and 10 suggest that batting higher up the order in T20Is has not yielded the same returns.
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More noticeably, the effortless six-hitting that once made him such a valuable floater has become increasingly rare, both at home and overseas.
His bowling has remained the stronger suit, but even that has lacked consistency. Last year he lost the vice-captaincy before regaining it ahead of the T20 World Cup, only to find himself surprisingly benched for consecutive matches at his home ground in Ahmedabad.
Although he responded brilliantly in the semi-final and final of that tournament, the momentum didn't carry forward.
A difficult IPL followed, where, as Delhi Capitals captain, he averaged just 19 with the bat and 32 with the ball. Then, only last week, he was hammered for 63 runs in four wicketless overs in a T20I.
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Against that backdrop, this ODI represented far more than just another appearance. It was his first ODI since October 2025, and there is a legitimate argument that he may not even have been recalled had Hardik Pandya and Nitish Reddy both been fully fit.
He was handed another opportunity, and he grabbed it with both hands. His figures of 4/62 were the best of his ODI career and the first time he had taken more than three wickets in a 50-over international. Yes, he was expensive for much of the spell, but context matters. Four wickets in the space of 12 deliveries transformed England's innings and prevented the hosts from pushing their total closer to 290.
That was a genuine clutch performance from a cricketer under enormous pressure to prove he still belongs at this level.
If that wasn't enough, he followed it with an unbeaten 56 off just 52 balls to guide India home with six wickets to spare.
His contribution with the bat was arguably even more impressive. When Axar walked in at No. 7, India's chase had suddenly become uncomfortable.
Shubman Gill had retired hurt after making 80, Rahul had departed cheaply and England sensed an opening. Washington Sundar, batting at No. 5 in an ODI for only the second time, had played cautiously and occasionally struggled to keep the scoreboard moving.
Axar changed the tempo almost immediately. He launched Will Jacks for six, took on Jofra Archer with successive boundaries and maintained a superb strike-rate in what was, by modern standards, a relatively low-scoring ODI.
More importantly, he judged the situation perfectly. He rotated the strike intelligently, ran superbly between the wickets and willingly assumed the role of aggressor, allowing Washington to settle into the supporting act. It was an innings built on awareness as much as shot-making.
For a player whose batting has been questioned for months, this was exactly the reminder India needed of the qualities that made him such a trusted all- rounder in the first place.
Will Axar be a guaranteed starter at next year's ODI World Cup? Probably not. India's first-choice XI will likely look different if everyone is fit.
But performances like this ensure something equally important. They make it extremely difficult for the selectors to leave him out of the squad altogether.
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