Axar Patel Was Angry With Suryakumar Yadav! India Captain Reveals Conflict In T20 World Cup

Suryakumar Yadav and Guatam Gambhir - (Source: AFP)

The T20 World Cup 2026 is over, and Suryakumar Yadav-led men successfully defended their T20 World Cup title. It was a long tournament that witnessed several turnarounds. Sanju Samson was the biggest example who went from warming the bench to winning the player of the tournament award. Similarly, Axar Patel was dropped from the side but returned with a bang was Men in Blue’s key performer in knockout games. 

Shedding light on Axar Patel, the star all-rounder picked up 11 wickets in seven innings and took key catches in the semis against England to help India reach the finals. Even in the all-important game against England, Axar picked up a three-wicket haul.

Suryakumar Yadav Opens Up On Benching Axar Patel

Axar finished the tournament on a high, but it was not the case throughout the World Cup. Notably, the left-arm spinner picked 6 wickets in the first three matches and then was rested for the last match against the Netherlands. 

The management then shocked everyone when they benched Axar Patel for the all-important South Africa match. It led to a huge uproar, more so because India lost in an embarrassing manner in that game. Eventually, Patel was brought in for the Zimbabwe match and spread his magic straightaway.

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In the latest events, India captain Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged his mistake, and while speaking to The Indian Express, he confirmed that it was his decision to bench Axar for Washington Sundar. SKY also added that Axar was angry with him, and the MI star also had to apologise to the star all-rounder for his decision. 

SKY apologises to Axar Patel

Suryakumar Yadav stated that Axar, who is the team’s vice-captain, didn’t expect to be benched, and it was a hard decision for him as well. However, things were eventually sorted out, and there were no hard feelings between the two senior players.

"He (Axar Patel) 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." " Suryakumar said.

In Axar’s absence, Washington Sundar failed to pick up a solitary wicket and scored just 11 runs against the Proteas.

Why Did India Bench Axar Patel for the South Africa Match?

It was purely a tactical decision because South Africa have plenty of left-handed batters. Quinton De Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Marco Jansen and David Miller are all southpaws, and to counter that threat, the Men in Blue thought of bringing in Washington Sundar.

The move quickly backfired because the GT star gave away 17 runs in his two overs without taking a single wicket.

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