Axar Patel, the 29-year-old all-rounder for the Indian national cricket team, has shared a cryptic post on his official X account (previously known as Twitter), probably referring to his snub from the T20I team for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
Axar Patel has not been included in the squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar have been chosen as the bowling all-rounders with the former given the vice-captaincy.
Axar Patel’s non-selection surprised many as he has performed quite well for the team in 20-over cricket. In the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia, the bowling all-rounder was economical with the ball and played a crucial role in the team’s victories.
Axar Patel bagged the Man of the Match award for his exceptional bowling figures of 3/16 in the fourth T20I and a day after the game, he took to X to share a cryptic post. “Move quietly. Only speak when it is time to say checkmate,” the all-rounder star posted on X.
Move quietly. Speak only when it’s time to say checkmate 🙏🏻🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/snDyaPYxPI
– Akshar Patel (@akshar2026) December 2, 2023
The selection is not in my hand – Axar Patel
Axar Patel opened up about his South Africa T20I snub after the fourth T20I against Australia. He said that the selection is not in his hands and he understands why they have dropped him from the team. He elaborated:
“These things [selection] They are not in my hand. It’s not like my name isn’t there, so I’m excited. It could also be the opposite. If I had gone for a few, people would have said I was upset. It works both ways. None of that, I was normal. Obviously Jaddu bhai [Ravindra Jadeja] is coming back, so I was replaced.”
“I didn’t have any of that in mind about not being on that team, so I have to prove myself. The decision is up to the selectors. I followed what I was doing in the first three games. “I am happy to be between the wickets.”
So far in four matches of the Australia T20I series, Axar has recorded bowling figures of 3/16, 1/37, 1/25 and 0/32. He will try to put in a good performance in the last match and also give a message to the selectors.