Axar Patel is primarily a left-arm orthodox spinner who made his Ranji Trophy debut in November 2012. Showing signs of early promise, Axar starred in the 2013-14 season for his state team Gujarat with 29 wickets across seven first-class matches.

Renowned for his accuracy and ability to cramp batters for room, Axar impressed with 58 scalps in his first four seasons for Punjab Kings (formerly known as Kings XI Punjab). The left-arm spinner’s consistent form earned him a spot in the Indian team and later also went on to book a place in India’s 2015 World Cup which took place in Australia and New Zealand.

Not just with the ball, but Axar is also handy with the bat as he considers himself a batting all-rounder. He can score quick runs and has a lot of experience playing in the IPL. His expertise in limited-overs cricket proved to be a huge advantage for us in IPL 2019. Since then, Axar Patel's career got a massive boost.

A good IPL 2020 was followed by a Test call-up, where the left-arm orthodox spinner tormented the English batsmen to scalp 27 wickets in just 3 Tests with 4 fifers and a scarcely believable average of 10.59 - the highest number of wickets by an Indian in his debut series.

The IPL 2021 season saw Axar Patel bag 15 wickets across 12 matches at a miserly economy of just 6.65. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the left-arm spinner took the onus of bowling the Super Over and conceded just 7 runs to help his side win the match. In the process, Axar Patel became the only spinner in IPL history to bowl the Super Over in a winning cause.

Axar Patel will certainly be one of the players to watch out for in the tournament.