India were struggling during their T20 World Cup final against South Africa when Axar Patel was promoted up the order. He walked out at No. 5, with the scoreboard reading 34/3. However, Axar recently commented on whether he knew about being promoted in case early wickets tumbled. He shared how Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid told him to pad up once the Indian Team lost the wicket of Rishabh Pant.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Axar Patel said: “Rohit bhai was standing beside me when Rishabh Pant got out. He told me, ‘Axar, pads pehen le’. (Axar, pad up). After that (Yuzvendra) Chahal came running to tell me that Rahul (Dravid) Bhai wants me to pad up. When I was padding up, I did not know what to do. We were two wickets down and I had still not analyzed the pitch. Next I saw Suryakumar (Yadav) also got out. Things happened so suddenly that I did not have time to think.”

However, Axar Patel also said how Hardik Pandya in the dugout and then Virat Kohli in the middle encouraged him before and during his innings, respectively as well. Despite being run out against the run of play, Axar Patel played a quickfire knock of 47 off just 31 balls. Meanwhile, he also feels that he thrives under pressure as he handles himself well.

“I feel that high-pressure situations suit me; maybe they align with my personality. When I’m sent in under pressure, I think I handle myself well. Such situations seem to bring out the best in me.”If you look at my career over the past year and a half, I’ve performed well in all the pressure situations. I’ve bowled in the PowerPlay and secured breakthroughs, whether in the World Cup or bilateral games,” Axar Patel concluded.