Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel has come under heavy criticism after his tactical calls backfired in the loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad. His bowling selection decisions became the biggest talking point of the game.
SRH accumulated 242/2, p Abhishek Sharma smashed an unbeaten 135, putting DC on the back foot early. The target itself was massive but how Delhi used their bowlers raised serious questions.
The biggest surprise was the use of Nitish Rana. Part-time off-spinner bowling all four overs and conceded 55 runs without a wicket while Axar and Kuldeep Yadav bowled just two overs each despite being the main spin options of the side.
SRH vs DC, IPL 2026: MAIN | SCORECARD
Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth questioned the thinking behind Axar’s decisions, especially the use of Rana at crucial moments of the game.
“Axar Patel is the captain and vice-captain of the T20 World Cup team here. Yet he bowled just two overs. And Nitish Rana gives the 16th with a well-set Abhishek Sharma. I’m not sure where you get the brains for such moves.”
“Axar Patel is an international bowler. He and Kuldeep Yadav are in the current T20 World Cup-winning Indian team. And they both combined to bowl four overs. Then suddenly you bring in Nitish Rana out of the blue and give him four overs. How is that justified? It’s sheer absurdity.”
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin focused on the overall bowling plan and how the roles were reversed despite the attack being at full strength.
“It didn’t just happen once, it happened multiple times. Nitish Rana was basically used as the primary option in the attack for Delhi Capitals despite the availability of specialists like Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar and T. Natarajan.”
“In the DC bowling attack, they have Axar, Kuldeep, Lungi, Mukesh and Natarajan. But the first player to complete his quota of four overs was Nitish Rana and they lost the match there. Has to be the biggest mistake yet.”
“Scoring 50 runs in four overs is not a big deal, but when you have five regular bowlers, why did you go for part-time?”
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch also pointed to the imbalance in DC’s bowling usage.
“We were sitting there scratching our heads, weren’t we? Your two Indian front-rowers, Axar Patel, captain Kuldeep Yadav bowled four overs between them. One part-time offspinner in Nitish Rana bowled four overs. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
DC’s problems were not limited to bowling. They were cruising at 107/1 in the chase before losing wickets in a cluster with Eshan Malinga breaching the middle order.
HOW NIT’S PLAN DC RANA RESTORED VS SRH
The plan was to use Rana’s off-spin against SRH left-handers like Travis Head and Abhishek. But it didn’t work.
Rana was introduced early and even opened the bowling, but instead of slowing things down, he was dismantled and finished with 0/55.
DC continued to rely on him even as the runs flowed while Axar and Kuldeep were not used. Axar, despite having a good record against Abhishek, bowled only two overs.
What looked like a smart plan before the game ended badly, costing the DC control and ultimately the match.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
22 Apr 2026 11:57 IST
