Delhi Capitals find themselves staring at another underwhelming IPL campaign, with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. Although they managed a vital win over Punjab Kings, Axar Patel’s side remains in a difficult position with only two matches left in the league stage. Even if DC win both their remaining games, qualification is no longer in their control and will depend on other results falling in their favour.
The season has been marked by inconsistency, with the team struggling to deliver collective performances at key moments. Their inability to close out crunch situations has cost them valuable points throughout the campaign. Questions have also been raised over Axar Patel’s leadership, as Delhi continue to falter in high-pressure games where they needed more composure and execution as a unit.
Meanwhile, Axar also singled out spinner Kuldeep Yadav after his underwhelming outing against Chennai Super Kings, saying the team felt his absence in the bowling attack. “But I feel in bowling, I missed my partner Kuldeep,” he said.
Former India batter Mohammad Kaif raised questions over Axar’s leadership approach, especially the decision to publicly single out a teammate after a difficult outing. Kaif stressed that experienced captains avoid naming individuals in public criticism and instead shield their players during tough phases, even when performances dip.
“A mature captain never publicly takes the name of one of his players or lets his player down. He does not openly blame him. I can understand that Kuldeep has gone through a tough phase this season. He has not bowled that well and has not picked up many wickets. But ever since he joined Delhi, he has been a proven bowler,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
“Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling has not been at its best”
Following criticism over Axar’s handling of Kuldeep’s struggles this season, Kaif weighed in on what he believes defines mature leadership in high-pressure tournaments.
“Forget just the IPL, even if you talk about India in ODIs or T20Is over the years, he has consistently performed. Yes, this season has been a bit quiet for him and his bowling has not been at its best. But you should never take a player’s name publicly. Instead, you should simply say that things did not go well as a team,” he added.
