Suryakumar Yadav reveals Axar Patel dressing room controversy: 'He was angry, I apologized'
Published - 12 Mar 2026, 01:35 PM | Updated - 12 Mar 2026, 01:36 PM
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India’s journey to historic ICC T20 World Cup 2026 triumph was not as smooth as it looked from the outside. In fact, one bold team decision created serious tension inside the dressing room during the final phase of the tournament that was shared by the captain, Suryakumar Yadav, himself now.
The vice-captain Axar Patel was surprisingly left out of two matches during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, both played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Axar Patel shockingly dropped in Ahmedabad matches
One of those big calls came during the crucial Super 8 clash, where India suffered a shocking 76-run defeat against South Africa. This defeat pushed the Men in Blue close to elimination and sparked massive debate about why Axar was not included in such an important match in Ahmedabad, as he was well aware of those conditions.
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Well, they went with Washington Sundar, keeping in mind South Africa’s left-hand-heavy batting order. Unfortunately, things never went the way India expected, and the strategy backfired badly.
Even though the heavy defeat was not only because of that Sundar call, the decision was heavily slammed by the fans and cricket experts. However, things were not different inside the dressing room either.
He was very angry: Suryakumar Yadav on Axar's reaction
Now, Suryakumar Yadav revealed that Axar was extremely angry with the call, and he feels the all-rounder’s reaction was completely natural. The Indian skipper eventually spoke to Axar and cleared the air after realizing the call had hurt the player.
Suryakumar Yadav was quoted as saying by The Indian Express: “He was very angry, and he should have been. He’s an experienced player; he leads a franchise. He should be angry. I apologized. I told him I made a mistake and I’m sorry, but it was a call taken for the team. It was a hard conversation. He took it in his stride, and we talked it through the next day.”
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Interestingly, the painful defeat against South Africa turned out to be a wake-up moment for India. The team changed its mindset and started treating every match like a knockout game. As a result, they bounced back strongly by winning the remaining Super 8 games.
India vs South Africa was the eye-opener: Suryakumar Yadav
They later defeated England in the semi-final and New Zealand in the final to lift the trophy. With that victory, India created history by becoming the first team ever to win back-to-back T20 World Cup titles. The Men in Blue also became the first team in the world to win three T20 World Cups.
Suryakumar Yadav signed off by saying, “India vs South Africa was the eye-opener. I never had any doubt in this team, but it tightened our screws. After that, there was no option of coming back. For us, Zimbabwe was a pre-quarter-final. The West Indies was the quarter-final. Then the semis and the final. We had to play every game like a knockout.”
Notably, Axar Patel finished the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 with 11 wickets in 8 matches at an economy rate of 8.20. However, he could manage only 21 runs in the tournament.
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