Earning a Test cap would be the biggest achievement: Axar Patel

Axar wants to establish himself in all three formats

Indian left-arm spinner Axar Patel has spoken about his desire to play Test Cricket for India. Currently, he is being looked at upon as a limited overs specialist after his superb show in last year’s IPL where he picked 17 wickets at an economy of 6.13 and won the Emerging player of the year award.

"World Twenty20 is the main target since it's a World championship and India will be hosting it. But if I can get selected for the Test series against South Africa, it will be a huge achievement," Axar told ESPNcricinfo. "I have played in ODIs so far, if I can earn the India cap in the remaining two formats this season, it would be a great reward.

"Even though I didn't feature in the Test squad for the Bangladesh tour, I am working hard on earning the Test cap. I don't want to be tagged as a limited-overs cricketer. I want to establish myself in all three formats of the game. That would make me a complete cricketer. So earning a Test cap would be the biggest achievement, I hope it would come soon."

He was a part of the 15-man squad for the World Cup in Australia and didn’t get to play a single match in the tournament as Jadeja’s comeback and his own ordinary show with the bat in the Tri-series coincided at the same time.

"When things weren't going my way, especially while batting in the ODIs, the manner in which the whole squad stood behind me taught me that come what may, you have to keep backing yourself," he said.

"All the coaching staff and senior players gave me the confidence that one bad match doesn't mean you are a bad player. When you are selected for India, you are special and you have to trust your abilities. One good ball by the bowler or a patch of bad form doesn't make you a bad cricketer."

IPL 2015 didn’t prove to be as good as IPL 2014 for the young spinner, just like how it was the case with his team, Kings XI Punjab. "I knew that the batsmen will try and target me," he said. "Most teams try and target the main bowler of a team, so I was prepared for that. But I feel when I was introduced into the attack, the momentum had already been with the batting side most of the time.

"It was obviously easier for the batsmen to attack me. But at the most, I conceded at the odd boundary every over. Otherwise I managed to restrict most of the batsmen to singles. But when there isn't a bowling partnership, I knew I was handicapped. When runs are being scored in heaps from the other end, it becomes a lot difficult to contain the batsmen."

He also praised his Team India skipper MS Dhoni whom he credited for helping him out even during the team’s net sessions. "I spoke a lot with Mahi bhai. He would help me improve bowling in match situations. He would make me understand a batsman's mindset at different times in an innings and help me set fields that would force the batsman to play according to my plans. He let me express myself and then trap a batsman with a specific field, even in the nets."