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Axar Patel has made his return to India's World Cup (WC) squad for the first time in eight years. The spin-bowling all-rounder was among the 15 names present in the Indian squad for the ICC World Cup 2023. Patel was a member of the 2015 World Cup team, but he did not make it to the 2019 World Cup.
Over the last two years, Axar Patel has proven himself as a match-winner in ODI cricket. He has not only bowled some brilliant spells of left-arm spin, but has also chipped in with vital runs for the team while batting in the lower middle-order.
Although Axar Patel may miss out on a place in the Indian playing XI because of Ravindra Jadeja's presence, there is a high chance of him featuring in the match squad for the games which take place in spin-friendly conditions.
Patel's teammates from the 2015 World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami, are present in the 2023 WC squad as well. However, three of Patel's teammates have already announced retirement. Here's a list of the four names.
#1 MS Dhoni was captain of India's 2015 World Cup squad
Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni was the captain of the Indian squad in the 2015 ICC World Cup. Dhoni was the skipper of the team that won the 2011 World Cup. While India topped the points table in the 2015 edition of the World Cup, they lost against Australia in the semifinals to crash out of the tournament.
Dhoni continued to play for four more years. His last appearance for India came in the 2019 World Cup semifinal, where the Men in Blue lost against New Zealand. Dhoni scored a half-century and helped India overcome a top-order collapse. However, he got run out in the penultimate over, leading to India's defeat. Dhoni announced retirement on August 15, 2020.
#2 Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina also announced retirement on August 15, 2020. Like Axar Patel, Raina was a spin-bowling all-rounder. Raina batted left-handed and bowled right-arm off-spin for India.
Raina was a member of the squad that lifted the 2011 World Cup. He retained his place in the 2015 WC squad, but was dropped from the ODI squad a year before the mega event in 2019.
#3 Ambati Rayudu
It was only in 2015 when Ambati Rayudu made it to India's World Cup squad. However, like Axar Patel, Rayudu warmed the benches in all the matches. Rayudu later proved himself as a reliable number four batter for India in ODIs.
Many fans expected Rayudu to feature in India's squad for the 2019 World Cup, but Vijay Shankar was preferred over him. Rayudu announced retirement from international cricket soon after.
#4 Stuart Binny
Former Indian all-rounder Stuart Binny was present in the 2015 World Cup squad as well. Binny did not feature in India's playing XI for any of the matches. He played his last ODI later that year against South Africa. After continuing to play domestic cricket for a few more years, Binny retired in 2021.
Axar Patel, Rayudu and Binny did not get a single game in the tournament. Binny and Rayudu have already retired, but Axar Patel still has a chance. It will be interesting to see if he makes his World Cup debut this year.
