Ex-England cricketer says Axar Patel was named T20I vice-captain 'because Gautam Gambhir likes all-rounders', makes bold prediction

UPDATED: Dec 23, 2025 12:30 PM IST

Ex-England cricketer says Axar Patel was named T20I vice-captain 'because Gautam Gambhir likes all-rounders', makes bold prediction

India's Axar Patel (L) celebrates after taking the wicket of South Africa's Dewald Brevis (R) during the second T20I at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Chandigarh on December 11, 2025.

Story Highlights:

As Shubman Gill was dropped, Gautam Gambhir was named T20I vice-captain again.

Monty Panesar feels Gambhir's fondness for all-rounders may see Axar leading after T20 World Cup 2026.

When India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026 was announced, Axar Patel was named vice-captain again as Shubman Gill did not find a place owing to his loss of form. Patel lost his vice-captaincy when Gill was named Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the T20 Asia Cup 2025. As Patel gets a leadership role for the mega event, former England spinner Monty Panesar believes that it is because head coach Gautam Gambhir likes all-rounders.

“I think it is like that, because Gautam Gambhir likes all-rounders. In Test cricket as well as in T20s, he prefers players who can contribute a bit with both batting and bowling,” Panesar told KADAK.

“He feels more comfortable with such players. So I think maybe if India does not win the T20 World Cup, then Axar Patel will become the T20 captain.”

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What did Ajit Agarkar say on Axar becoming captain again?

“Shubman was the vice-captain, but he's not in the team, so someone else had to be vice-captain. Before, when Shubman was not playing T20Is and was playing Test cricket, Axar was the vice-captain,” Agarkar said.

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Axar’s recent numbers and role in the side

The 31-year-old did not play the last three T20Is against South Africa as he was ruled out due to illness. Recently, Patel has been used as a floater in the batting order. In the second T20I, he walked out to bat at no.3 in the run chase against the Proteas. He scored 46 runs and bagged three wickets from two T20Is against the Aiden Markram-led side.

However, ahead of the five-T20I series against New Zealand, Suryakumar has confirmed that the spot will now belong to Tilak Varma who has been in tremendous form.

Will Axar play the ODI series against New Zealand?

Axar hasn’t been named in Gujarat’s squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. In the ODI series against South Africa, he did not find a place. The ODI squad for New Zealand series is yet to be announced. It will be interesting to see if he and Ravindra Jadeja are named in the squad. Irrespective of whether he plays in ODIs series or not, he will be back in action in the five-T20I series against the BlackCaps which begins on January 21 in Nagpur.