rewrite this title “Like that senior person in our relatives who is wise” – R Ashwin star lauds Team India all-rounder post T20 World Cup 2026 win

Spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin lauded Team India all-rounder Axar Patel after India’s T20 World Cup 2026 win. The Men in Blue became champions for the third time after beating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final.

Axar Patel played a vital role with the ball in the final. After scoring 255/5, India bowled the Kiwis out for just 159 in 19 overs. He returned figures of 3/27 from three overs. Ashwin compared the all-rounder to a wise person in the family who is always available and approachable.

Axar, being the vice-captain, did not play all games in the tournament. However, he did not show any disappointment. He delivered whenever he was required to, as pointed out by Ashwin.

“Axar is like that senior person in our relatives who is wise, whom we can always go to. That person is Axar. You will never see him troubled. He is always smiling. He was the vice-captain and out of the team. He came back and you could not see anything. Many times, he does not get to bat or complete his overs. But where he has to come and do his job, he always does it. You can easily say that in T20 cricket, he is your blue-chip stock,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.

Axar bagged 11 wickets from seven matches at an average of 18.63 and an economy rate of 8.20.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s massive praise for star Team India batter

Ravichandran Ashwin also praised Ishan Kishan, highlighting his redemption story. Kishan was dropped from the Indian team in 2023 and was away for almost two years.

He put up a sensational performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025-26, where he captained Jharkhand to victory as well. Kishan was called back into the team for the New Zealand series before the T20 World Cup 2026, where he put up a brilliant performance.

“The story of Ishan Kishan is a story of respect. Respecting small things in life that helped you come back. Domestic cricket. Ishan was not fine mentally and left in between. After that, he was dropped from all the sides. But he learnt to respect domestic cricket and perform as well. The way he won the title for Jharkhand, he did not just break the door, he slammed it and smashed it. After coming to the team, he kept the team front. It was easy for him to say I am back, let me make some scores. That is one attitude you have to like with him,” Ashwin said.

Kishan played a massive role in India’s victory. He slammed a 25-ball 54 in the final and also ended as the second-highest run-getter for the Men in Blue. The left-hander scored 317 runs from nine matches at an average of 35.22 and a strike rate of 193.29 with three half-centuries.

Edited by Rishab Vm