Team India all-rounder Axar Patel lost his place in the Men in Blue’s final 15-member squad owing to a left quadriceps strain.
While he was named in the preliminary squad, he was replaced by veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday, September 28. Axar picked up the injury during India’s Super 4 clash against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup 2023 earlier this month.
Axar was not included in the squad for the first two ODIs of India’s recently concluded home series against India. He was on the roster for the final fixture but was later ruled out as he failed to recover from his injury.
Several fans took to social media to react to Axar not making it to India’s World Cup 2023 squad due to injury.
Here are some of the top reactions:
It is worth mentioning that this isn’t the first time that Axar Patel has missed out on an opportunity to play in the World Cup. He was replaced by Shardul Thakur in India’s T20 World Cup squad in 2021.
Axar Patel featured in only two matches at the Asia Cup 2023. He was added to the playing XI for India’s Super 4’s tie against Sri Lanka.
The left-handed batter scored 26 runs off 36 balls, helping India register a respectable 213-run total. While he remained wicketless, Rohit Sharma and Co. ultimately secured a 41-run win in the match.
He once again proved his prowess as a batter, contributing 42 runs in 34 deliveries in the subsequent game against Bangladesh. Although India lost by six runs, Axar received widespread praise for his clutch knock.
India’s updated squad for World Cup 2023
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Check out India Squad for World Cup 2023 & South Africa Squad for World Cup 2023. Follow Sportskeeda for latest News.