Delhi Capitals Head Coach Ricky Ponting revealed that Axar Patel made a few technical changes to his batting which helped him to become a more improved player for India across the formats. Axar Patel was picked by Delhi Capitals in the 2019 auction and has closely worked with the Australian skipper in the last three years.
Axar Patel was part of Mumbai Indians in 2013, Where Ricky Ponting captained Mumbai for the first half of the IPL, and later he resigned owing to his poor form, eventually, Mumbai Indians won their debut Indian Premier League Championship title in 2013 under Rohit Sharma.
“I’ve known Axar for a long time and he was only a young boy in the squad at Mumbai when I first went there,” Ponting told the ICC Review.
Ponting said that Axar Patel always had very good batting skills and added that in the last couple of years, he had shown what he is capable of at IPL and International levels. Axar Patel finished as the second-highest run-getter for India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy with a whopping average of 88 scoring crucial runs.
“I’ve known that there’s been a certain amount of batting skill there that, apart from the last couple of years, he hadn’t been showing at IPL level or even at international level. There were a few little technique changes that we made with him. We just opened up his hips and his shoulders a little bit. So he was a bit more chest-on towards the right-arm fast bowlers.”
Ricky Ponting who will see donning the coach hat for Delhi Capitals in the 2023 IPL wants Axar Patel to contribute more with the bat for them this season. Axar Patel will be a crucial member of Delhi Capitals in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
Axar Patel Praised Ricky Ponting For His Batting Success
Earlier during the 2nd test, Axar Patel was one of the most successful batters for India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. He played exceptionally well in this series for India. Axar credited Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting for his success as a batter.
“At Delhi Capitals, I spoke a lot with Ricky about how I can get better with my batting. Even in the Indian team, I was talking to the batters. I felt I was not realising my potential in my 30s and 40s. I was not able to finish the game,” he said
Axar Patel will be part of India’s squad for the ODI series against Australia starting on March 17. It will be interesting to see whether India picks his squad for World Test Championship final which seems to be more pacer friendly.