Axar Patel injury - (Source:X.Com)
In the ongoing 1st T20I between India and New Zealand at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, the Men in Blue have dealt a massive blow as their star all-rounder Axar Patel walked off the field with an injury. Notably, the incident occurred in the 16th over of the match when Patel tried to stop a bullet shot from Daryl Mitchell and injured his finger.
Shedding more light on the incident, on the 3rd ball of the over, Mitchell utilised the over-pitched delivery and slammed a powerful shot over Axar’s head. However, the southpaw made a daring attempt for a catch, but the ball brushed off his finger and raced away for a boundary. The attempt turned into a nightmare as Axar was in visible pain because of the impact of the shot and saw his finger bleeding.
The physios ran to the field and immediately took Axar off the field after wrapping up the bleeding finger. Eventually, Suryakumar Yadav turned to Abhishek Sharma to complete the over.
Axar’s absence a big blow to team India
India won’t miss Axar a lot in the first T20I because they were in a dominating position and closer to a comfortable win when Patel got injured. However, the T20 World Cup 2026 is less than a month away, and if Axar’s injury is more serious than thought, then the management will be sweating hard in panic.
Besides being the star all-rounder, Axar Patel is also India’s vice-captain and will also serve as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy during the T20 World Cup as well. Talking about his performance in the 1st T20I, Patel couldn’t contribute with the bat, but took the crucial wicket of Glenn Phillips in his spell. Notably, the Kiwi batter amassed 78 (40) and could have turned the game in New Zealand’s favour.
Axar adds to India’s long list of injuries
India are in serious trouble ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 because they have a lot of injury issues to deal with, and Axar Patel is the latest addition. Rishabh Pant was the first one as the star keeper-batter missed the ODI series against New Zealand due to a foot injury he sustained during training and net sessions.
Tilak Varma too will miss the first three T20Is because of tesitcular torsion and underwent emergency surgery for the rare injury. Further, Washington Sundar is also at the CoE recovering from his side strain that he suffered during the first ODI, following which he was ruled out of the T20I series as well.
Notably, Rishabh is not in the scheme of things in T20Is, but Tilak and Washington are both part of the T20 World Cup squad, and India cannot afford to sweat hard over the fitness of three players who are key to the upcoming tournament.
Nonetheless, talking about the ongoing match, India have sealed a comfortable win and take a 1-0 lead before the caravan moves to Raipur on January 23.
