Representing your country at an ICC event like the ODI World Cup can be a dream come true for any professional cricketer, let alone for someone who was in the reckoning but a slight misfortune robbed him of the opportunity.
Star allrounder Axar Patel was poised to represent India at the ODI World Cup 2023 but sudden misfortune meant that he was ruled out of the tournament with a left quadriceps strain.
Axar picked up the injury during India's last Super Four clash against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and was replaced by Ravichandran Ashwin in the final squad for the marquee tournament.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, Axar revealed that he was bitterly disappointed after being sidelined with injury but that period came as a learning curve in his career and he realised that he didn't need to fret about the uncontrollables.
"When the T20 World Cup was in Dubai in 2021, Hardik Pandya was injured, and Shardul Thakur stepped in. Before the 2023 World Cup, I got injured and was out of the squad. R Ashwin took my place.
"After winning the World Cup in the West Indies, I realized I had been too hard on myself for asking that existential question of why it always seemed to happen to me. Evidently, God had different plans for me. He wanted me to be part of a World Cup-winning side," said Axar.
"Yes, those seven months between the 2023 World Cup and now were very hard, but I learned to focus on what I could control and work on getting better.
"I concentrated on my rehab and my skills. During the IPL and just before the team selection, I was asked about my World Cup chances. My reply was that I focused on one day at a time and wasn't thinking about the World Cup. That approach has worked for me. Now here we are as world champions," he added.
