Delhi Capitals have lost five out of six matches in IPL 2026, severely jeopardizing their playoff chances. Axar Patel suggests a shift in focus to the next season following a heavy defeat against KKR.
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Hemang Badani Axar Patel
'There is a reason DC are at the bottom': Mohammad Kaif's brutal verdict on Axar Patel's side in IPL 2026 standings originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Delhi Capitals find themselves staring down the barrel of an early IPL exit, and the look on Axar Patel's face after the Kolkata Knight Riders defeat said it all.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif shared his heartfelt sympathies towards the DC skipper on X and pointed out a few key reasons for Delhi's misery.
Axar cut a dejected figure, and his words after the match suggested the camp may have mentally begun closing the chapter on this season already.
The loss to KKR was Delhi's fifth in their last six matches. To have any realistic hope of making the top four, they must now win every remaining game and simultaneously hope that a cluster of other results fall perfectly in their favour.
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Delhi Capitals are at the bottom due to losing five of their last six matches, leading to diminished playoff hopes.
Axar Patel hinted at shifting focus to the next season after a heavy defeat, indicating frustration with the current performance.
Delhi Capitals suffered a heavy defeat against KKR, marked by a batting collapse and poor spin bowling.
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Even if all of that happens, Delhi can only reach 14 points, a tally that may still fall short of what is needed to qualify.
After being asked to bat first, Delhi posted a meagre 142. It was a total that looked thin from the moment it went up on the board.
KKR opener Finn Allen then made the chase look almost embarrassingly straightforward, hammering an unbeaten century that carried his side to the target in just 14.2 overs.
Kaif found it hard to watch Axar after the game. He highlighted several issues that have plagued Delhi throughout the season and wrote on X: "It was tough to see Axar Patel after the game. DC had too many problems this season. Struggling batting, too many changes and dropped catches. There is a reason, DC is at the bottom of table. Ashutosh Sharma, best uncapped finsher, should have played all games."
Axar was candid in identifying where things went wrong. He pointed to the batting crumbling in clusters and the spinners having an unusually poor day as the two main reasons behind the defeat.
“I think we set a low target and at the same time there were a lot of mistakes from the spinners. The way they stepped up, I think the mistake was from the spinners. But at the same time, if you look at it, when we lost five wickets in two or three overs, I think the momentum went away from us," he said.
Perhaps the most telling moment came when Axar was asked about DC's plans going forward. Rather than talking about mounting a rescue mission, he spoke about learning from mistakes and identifying players from the bench who could be given opportunities.
“Yes, now we’ll go and think about what mistakes we made. After that, yes, what is there now? There is still a long time, next year is also coming. So what plan can we make for next year, what can we think of? In that sense, we can also look at the players sitting on the bench and see who should get a chance and what we can do," Axar said.
There is something almost refreshing about Axar's openness. Most captains cling to playoff talk long after hope has faded. He did not.
But that same honesty raises a question: if the problems, the collapsing middle order, the over-rotation of players, the underuse of finishers like Ashutosh Sharma were visible for weeks, why did it take this long to confront them? The rebuilding needs to begin with genuine accountability, not just a glance at the bench.
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