Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel (AP Photo) Axar Patel suffered yet another disappointment with the bat as his struggling IPL 2026 season hit a new low during Delhi Capitals’ clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.The Delhi skipper now has the second lowest batting average by a captain in an IPL season among players who have batted at least seven innings. Axar has managed just 44 runs in 11 matches this season at an average of 6.28, trailing only Shane Warne who averaged 2.00 in IPL 2010.
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Hemang Badani admits ‘perform or perish’ as DC faces must-win situationLowest average for a captain in an IPL season (7+ innings)2.00 Shane Warne (2010)6.28 Axar Patel (2026) *11.08 John Morgan (2021)12:00 PM Harbhajan Singh (2012)Rs 12.75 Ashwin (2018)Apart from that, Axar also currently has the lowest strike rate in IPL 2026 among batsmen who have faced at least 50 balls. His strike rate of 74.57 highlights the range of his innings in a season where aggressive batting has dominated the headlines.The poor numbers came on another frustrating evening for Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium as KKR’s spin attack completely strangled the hosts.With Pathum Nissanka scoring a composed fifty and KL Rahul adding 23 at the top, Delhi’s middle order once again crumbled under pressure.The spinning trio of Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy and Varun Chakaravarthy completely dominated the middle overs, drying up boundaries and forcing risky shots.Narine removed Sameer Rizvi soon after returning to the attack, while Roy dealt the decisive blows by dismissing Nissanko immediately after his fifty before trapping Tristan Stubbs in the same over.Delhi lost four wickets in the middle overs as KKR tightened their spin grip. Had it not been for Ashutosh Sharma’s late counter-attack of 39 off 28 balls, the hosts might have struggled to even cross the 100-run mark.Axar’s poor form with the bat has now become one of the biggest problems for Delhi Capitals in an increasingly difficult IPL campaign.
