'Principal wrote my name on leaving certificate' - Axar Patel clears the confusion around the spelling of his name

One of the finest spin all-rounders in the country, Axar Patel has been particularly impressive in the Test format, where he has scalped a total of 39 wickets in six appearances. He is currently busy playing in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Capitals. Over the years, there has been a lot of confusion around the spelling of his name and the cricketer himself has opened up about it while also clarifying the correct spelling.

Axar Patel marked his presence in one of the episodes of the popular show Breakfast with Champions on YouTube and revealed interesting facts about his name and Pant’s antics behind the stumps. The left-hander also threw light on the funny incident, where the spelling of his name changed in an unfortunate manner.

“Normally, it is Akshar, but I was in Bangalore for the U19 camp before the World Cup and the team was going to Australia. Everyone told me to get a passport made because I didn’t have one. To get a passport, I needed a leaving certificate and my license. When I went to school, the principal wrote my name as Axar in the leaving certificate,” Axar said.

He further revealed the chat with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, where they asked Axar about the different spelling of the name in his new passport.

“The NCA people said, You usually write Akshar, then why it is Axar in your passport. Then I called my Dad and he said, now nothing can be changed. Then I played for Mumbai Indians and Indian team, and thought everything is going well and let’s not change Axar,” he added.

The person next to Pant is always on Alert: Axar Patel 

Axar Patel also discussed the wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant‘s antics behind the stumps, especially in the Test matches. He revealed that the person next to Pant has to always be on alert, as he can start a conversation all of a sudden at any point of the match to entertain himself.

“The noise he makes while wicket-keeping is hilarious. I tell him, what are you doing. Then Pant says I need some fun around, otherwise, we’ll get bored. At random, he will ask the point fielder, Bro, how it’s going. The person next to him like the slip fielder is always on alert,” Axar added.