Axar Patel takes careful to “leverage off a lot of the other senior players in the group and the coaches” instead of being the “only voice” in the Delhi Capitals (DC) locker room. According to assistant coach Matthew Mott, that is the new DC captain’s evaluation.
With his club winning all three of their games and being the only team still undefeated, Axar has had an incredible start to his DC captaincy tenure. This is true even when they don’t have much expertise in the position. He had only led his state team, Gujarat, in 23 games across all formats prior to the 2025 Indian Premier League, and he had led DC in just one game the previous season.
“What makes Axar the leader stand out is his ability to ensure that all the players feel included in the team,” said Mott, who himself joined the DC team before to this season.
Mott remarked, “He’s been amazing,” prior to DC’s match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Bengaluru. He simply has a wonderful balance between cricket and life, even if I obviously didn’t spend much time with him prior to this event.
“He would frequently simply recap the group and ensure that the players are present, enjoying themselves, and smiling. He discusses that a lot. I believe he has now played enough cricket to understand that the game can occasionally be somewhat unpredictable. You know very well that everything is fine while you’re winning.
“I want to think that he has the kind of personality that will have a cheerful attitude even if we do have a difficult day. It will be a pretty similar message. I believe he also takes advantage of many of the coaches and other older players in the organisation.
“He isn’t handling everything by himself. He’s surrounded by some amazing people, in my opinion. He has a wealth of experience, especially at this location. His voice does not seem to be the only one. In order to get the most out of those around him, he wants to take advantage of them.
Mott was also optimistic about Jake Fraser-McGurk’s performance in the 2025 Indian Premier League, even if his tournament had a lacklustre start. Fraser-McGurk was one of the IPL 2024’s breakout stars, lighting up the stage when he replaced Lungi Ngidi in the middle of the competition.
With an average of 36.66 and an almost unbelievable strike rate of 234.04, the 22-year-old had hammered 330 runs in nine innings. However, with a strike rate of barely 100 and only 39 runs in three innings, he is failed to duplicate those figures this season.
Fraser-McGurk’s poor returns, however, didn’t faze Mott, who insisted that “influencing and winning three or four games” would be the hallmark of a brilliant tournament for him.
“I think the role that Jake plays in every side he’s in, it’s high risk, but when he has his day out, it’s what is the goal,” he stated. “He has complete authority from all of our leadership, and there are still many games to play.
“Axar, in particular, has stepped up his efforts to play the way he does and dominate the game right away.
Quite similar to what you see from Phil Salt and comparable individuals. He achieves some things that few players worldwide can do, but playing such fast-paced game is definitely risky as well.
“We’re excited for him to play on this fantastic pitch, which is also renowned for being an excellent batting surface. I have no doubt that he is eagerly anticipating his next chance.
“Du Plessis is moving around much more effectively.”
After missing the previous game because of a groin ache, Faf du Plessis appears to be returning for DC’s upcoming matchup with his old team. He hammered several strong blows during his lengthy net session on the eve of the game, one of which nearly struck the windowpane of the press box. Before leaving, he also walked to the main playing area and spent some time shadow practicing.
In Bengaluru, Du Plessis, the three-year captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, amassed an impressive IPL record of 651 runs in 17 innings at an average of 46.50 and a strike rate of 161.94. With scores of 29 and 50 in the first two innings of the season, he has also displayed respectable form.
Regarding du Plessis, Mott stated, “I believe he will be evaluated by the physiotherapists today.” “From the outside, it appears that he is moving much more effectively when he is playing. He’s currently enjoying a nice respite, which is the nice thing about the schedule thus far.
He is an important member of our team, but it also demonstrated our depth and the guys’ flexibility in coming in. KL [Rahul] came on at short notice and played an innings like that to really set us up for the win in the last game, which I thought was fantastic. I believe we can adjust whether [du Plessis] is available.
India
