IND vs NZ: How MS Dhoni's simple tweak saved Axar Patel's career in 2021

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IND vs NZ: How MS Dhoni's simple tweak saved Axar Patel's career in 2021

IND vs NZ: Axar Patel credits MS Dhoni for saving his international career in 2021 and helping him become a versatile batter across formats.

Published by Abhishek Swain | January 10, 2026

India’s T20I vice-captain Axar Patel has credited former captain MS Dhoni for playing a crucial role in reviving his international career. Speaking to *The Times of India* ahead of the T20 World Cup, Axar reflected on a difficult phase early in his career when he struggled for consistency and found himself in and out of the Indian team.

After making his T20I debut in 2015, Axar featured in just 11 matches over the next three years before being dropped from the side. He returned to the national setup in 2021 and cemented his place following India’s disappointing campaign at the T20 World Cup in Dubai.

Axar revealed that his time working closely with Dhoni, who served as India’s mentor during the 2021 World Cup, proved to be a turning point. According to Axar, Dhoni helped simplify his approach to batting and encouraged him to stop overthinking while at the crease. The advice clicked andAxar grew leaps and boundsas a batter from the next season.“I started as a batter but became a full-time spinner when I reached the NCA.

In my early days, I didn’t do well with the bat and started doubting myself. When I got dropped in 2018, I worked very hard on my batting. When MS Dhoni was the mentor of the 2021 World Cup team, he told me that in my earlier days under his captaincy, I put pressure on myself by thinking I had to perform all the time, instead of believing that I was a capable batter. Slowly, I started implementing what Mahi bhai had told me and regained my confidence,” Axar said.

Since establishing himself in the side,Axar has grown into a dependable middle-order batter. He has regularly batted at No. 3 or No. 4 for both India and his Indian Premier League franchise, Delhi Capitals, underlining the trust placed in his batting abilities.

“If I’ve been sent up the order, that means the team trusts me and believes I have the talent to perform that role. When I go out to bat, I don’t think of myself as a floater. The team management tells me that I’m not sent in just to blindly accelerate the scoring, play out a tough spell, or target a particular spinner. I am given a role like any other specialist batter,” Axar added.

Axar is set to feature in India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will serve as a key build-up to the T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to begin on February 7.