Axar Patel Slams Captaincy Perceptions: "Doesn't Speak English. How Will He Talk?"
Axar Patel opened up on his captaincy mantra, saying that he likes to maintain a healthy team environment without compromising on professionalism.
- India all-rounder Axar Patel has blasted the common narratives surrounding captaincy bias
- He insisted that a captain's job is to get the best out of players and should be judged on the basis of that
- "People start saying 'oh he isn't a captaincy material, he doesn't speak English. How will he talk?" said Axar
India all-rounder Axar Patel has put an end to the common narratives surrounding captaincy bias, especially the obsession with having an English-speaking cricket leader. In a candid chat with The Indian Express, Axar spoke in detail about the perceptions surrounding this, suggesting that a player should not be judged by language skills or any other stereotypes. The all-rounder insisted that a captain's job is to get the best out of the players and should be judged on the basis of that criterion only.
"People start saying 'oh he is not a captaincy material, he doesn't speak English. How will he talk? Yeh hai, voh hai'. Arre! Captain's work is not to just talk. Captain's work is to know the player and see how to get the best out of him - what's his strength, what's his weakness. Captain knows that I have this player and what I need to do to get work out of him," told Axar.
"If we say 'personality chahiye, acha English bolna chahiye' - that's a perception made by the public based on their own thinking," he added.
"It's important that people have to change their personal thinking. Stop thinking 'oh his personality is good, he can speak English - so he is captain material'. One thing about captaincy is there should be no language barrier," he explained.
Axar, who led Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last season, pointed out that social media nowadays plays an important role in igniting this bias.Â
"It's all about what you see and what the media is showing. How active you are on social media. How you talk. People judge you on all that. Everyone likes to give opinions these days - he is capable, he is not capable, make him captain, don't make him captain," said Axar.
Speaking further, Axar opened up on his captaincy mantra, saying that he likes to maintain a healthy team environment without compromising on professionalism.
"I want to keep the team environment friendly and lively, but no one should take things for granted," he said.Â
"There's a line - what needs to be done to win the game needs to be done first. Then we should have fun. It's working at the moment. I believe that if you're having fun, you do better."
India Cricket Team
Delhi Capitals
Axar Patel