A 35-year-old comeback to Team India after 5 years? Axar Patel will be out!

Krunal Pandya comeback: The 35-year-old veteran all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who has been out of the Indian cricket team for the last 5 years, is likely to make a comeback to international cricket soon. While the team management is generally adopting a policy of constantly giving opportunities to young players with a view to the future, the news of Krunal Pandya's return at the age of 35 has created a huge surprise among the entire cricket world and fans. Krunal last played his last T20 match for India against Sri Lanka in July 2021. Now, with his possible arrival, there is a possibility that current left-arm spinner Akshar Patel will be dropped from the team.

Akshar Patel's performance continues to decline

In the recent few matches, especially in the T20 format, Team India's bowling attack has not been able to perform as expected. Axar Patel has been a first-choice left-arm spinner so far and has also been the vice-captain of the T20 team until recently. But his individual performances have seen a steady decline in both bat and ball. If we look at the statistics, Axar Patel has scored only 69 runs in the 12 T20 innings he has played this year. In the last few matches, he has got very few balls to play in the batting, but there is no denying that he has not scored more than 30 runs in a single T20 match since June 2024. Due to this poor performance, the team management is now forced to think of new options

Krunal Pandya's superb and impressive comeback

The Times of India, Krunal Pandya can once again cement his important place in the Indian T20 team as a left-arm spin bowling all-rounder. So far, he has played 19 T20 Internationals for India and picked up 15 wickets and scored 124 runs. However, the main reason for his comeback is his highly explosive performance in IPL 2026. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Krunal scored 226 runs with the bat and picked up 14 wickets with his versatility in bowling. His superb all-round performance has once again caught the attention of the selectors.

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Next series and the future of Team India

Experts believe that if Krunal Pandya returns to the team, he could become India's clear first choice for the left-arm spin all-rounder's slot for the 2028 T20 World Cup and the Olympic Games to be held in the same year. Notably, Shreyas Iyer has been made the new captain of the Indian T20 team after the 2026 T20 World Cup. Under his captaincy, India's next T20 series is scheduled to be played against Afghanistan. Krunal Pandya is likely to be fielded in this three-match series to be held from September 13 to 17. Apart from this, Team India will also play important T20 series against West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka before the end of the year 2026><