Axar Patel

The Mumbai Indians signed him for the sixth IPL season but never played him. Kings XI Punjab picked him up the following year, and he quickly became one of the competition's most promising youngsters. Although he regards himself as a batting all-rounder and rarely got to bat high in the order, his tight, wicket-taking bowling made the difference. He took 17 wickets in the 2014 IPL, delivered for captain George Bailey under pressure and was named Emerging Player of the Tournament. In 2016 he took four wickets in five balls against the Gujarat Lions, a spell that included a hat-trick. In the 2019 auction the Delhi Capitals bought him for INR 5 crore, and they have retained him at every auction since.

His IPL form brought an India call-up at 20 for an ODI series in Bangladesh in 2014. He did well enough there, and later at home against Sri Lanka, to keep Ravindra Jadeja out of the side, and he was picked for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. India leaned on pace in those conditions, so he did not play, though he returned for a tour of Bangladesh that June. For years Jadeja's presence limited his chances: he missed the 2017 Champions Trophy and was only a stand-by for the 2019 World Cup.

Long seen as a white-ball specialist, Axar finally made his Test debut against England at home in 2021. He took 5-60 at Chennai, becoming just the ninth Indian bowler to claim five wickets on Test debut, and ended the series with 27 wickets from three matches, second only to one other bowler.

Since then he has become a dependable figure for India, especially in limited-overs cricket, with better batting also earning him home Test selections. A left quadriceps strain ruled him out of the 2023 home World Cup despite his place in the 15-man squad, but he played a key part in India's success at the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.