Former Australian legend Ricky Ponting recently opened up on helping Axar Patel realize his true potential as a batter. The Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach revealed that the all-rounder did well, given that he is a quick learner and a thoughtful cricketer.
Axar has undergone a phenomenal rise as a batter in the last few months, mainly scoring runs at crunch moments during the recently-concluded Test series against Australia. The 29-year-old was the second-highest run-getter in the Test series against Australia. His innings of 74 in the first innings of the second Test proved to be a defining one.
Speaking to the Times of India, Ricky Ponting recalled Axar’s presence in the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad and identified his batting talent. The Tasmanian revealed that he showed a few videos to the all-rounder to make him realize his shortcomings.
“I love to find technical players where I can help players. I coached Axar when he was very young. I first coached him when I was there with Mumbai Indians. He was part of that squad. I knew he had batting talent,” he said.
“But if you look through the IPL, he didn’t produce as per his ability. We made small changes. I really had to sit back and show him a few videos and replay the ones where I wanted him to change a few things. He is a quick learner because he is a very thoughtful cricketer,” Ponting added.
Axar Patel’s T20 numbers for India have also improved, especially in the T20 series against Sri Lanka. The Gujarat-born cricketer struck 65 off 31 balls in the second T20I against Sri Lanka earlier this year, with India in pursuit of 207.
“He was close to becoming the captain” – Ricky Ponting on Axar Patel
Speaking of Delhi Capitals’ captaincy for IPL 2023, Ponting revealed that David Warner edged Axar Patel for the role due to winning the IPL title for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the sort of experience he has.
“We have seen how much he has grown over the last couple of years. In the last 12 months, he has grown as a batter and India have shown enough faith in him to bat up the order. He was close to becoming the captain. He was vice-captain to Rishabh Pant here for the past couple of years,” Ponting continued.
“He is part of the family here. We really thought about it. Just a little bit of experience went David Warner’s way. He has won an IPL for SunRisers Hyderabad as captain. He started his IPL career in Delhi and he is a durable player,” he added.
Nevertheless, Delhi Capitals are yet to get off the mark in the ongoing season, having lost their first two games.