Surya apologised to calm down ‘angry’ Axar Patel:India skipper opens up on all-rounder’s dramatic snub in T20 WC

After winning the T20 World Cup for the third time at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India captain Suryakumar Yadav spoke for the first time in an interview since winning the ICC trophy. During the conversation, he openly shared his thoughts about several teammates and reflected on key moments from India’s successful campaign in the tournament. Suryakumar also revealed Axar Patel’s reaction after he was left out of the playing XI in two matches, against Namibia in the group stage and South Africa in the Super 8 stage. He said, ‘He was very angry, I apologised.’ The Indian captain further applauded Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma for their crucial performances in the knockout stages. He also spoke highly of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah’s contributions throughout the World Cup journey. ‘Axar was very angry, I apologised’ – Suryakumar Yadav Since winning the T20 World Cup, India captain Suryakumar Yadav spoke openly for the first time in an interview with the Indian Express on the reaction of Axar Patel after being dropped from the playing XI against Namibia (Group stage) and South Africa (Super 8). He said, “He was very angry and he should have been. He’s an experienced player, he leads a franchise. He should be angry. I apologised. I told him I made a mistake and I’m sorry, but it was a call for the team. It was a hard conversation. He took it in his stride and we talked it through the next day.” Surya applauded Sanju Samson for his three crucial knocks in knockouts After talking about Axar Patel, when asked about Sanju Samson, he spoke his heart out for ‘Chetta’. He said, Sanju came with a lot going for him, a keeper who can bat at the top. I remember he came to me once and asked, “Just tell me what you want from me in this team.” We said: “We want the same Sanju Samson we’ve seen tear attacks apart.” ‘He scored 97*, 89, 89 in the big games. If he wanted, he could have easily scored hundreds in all three, he was playing that fast. But if you take 10 balls to go from 89 to 100 when you could do it in three or four, you’re stealing six balls from the second batter. (Shivam) Dube scored 28 off six balls, 26 off eight. That was only possible because Sanju didn’t chase his hundred,” he added further. When Sanju was not playing, Surya told him, “This is a difficult phase but you have to take it in stride. If God has written something for you, you will get it. He was preparing himself as if the opportunity comes, grab it, and the whole world will witness it.” Suryakumar on being persistent with Abhishek Sharma When asked about being persistent with Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav said, “That’s his identity as a player, when he bats for six or eight overs, he finishes games. I told him once: there are nine games in this World Cup, even if you fail in eight of them, score zero in all eight, I am giving you the guarantee that you will face the first ball in the final. Such players change games when they bat. I knew a day would come where he would finish it off.” SKY on experienced Hardik Bumrah’s contribution in T20 WC 2026 Speaking about Hardik Pandya, he told, “When we were in the Asia Cup I told Hardik: you are the most experienced big-match player in this group, share that with the others — talk to them about how to play in big games. Then after the South Africa game, something shifted. Hardik and I sat down with the entire batting unit and had a long conversation about how we needed to bat going forward, what the identity of this team actually was. After that our tide changed.”

“Bumrah doesn’t need to be told anything, he knows how to work with the bowling unit. Whenever there’s a pressure situation, he comes running and talks to the players. I saw that as his best quality. Axar is the same,” he spoke on India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.