DC have won only three of their last eight games
Delhi Capitals seemed to have found a new groove in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. They were controlling games, Axar Patel’s captaincy felt like a breath of fresh air and all their departments were clicking into gear.
They were the only undefeated side after four rounds of the league stage when the turn happened. Their in-form batting line-up collapsed in a spectacular fashion against Mumbai Indians after the chase of 206 went swimmingly until the 12th over. What seemed like a well-fought victory turned into a dramatic defeat.
While MI’s fortunes since that game had an upswing, DC’s deteriorated. They won only three of their last eight games and were lucky to have escaped against Sunrisers Hyderabad with a point thanks to rain.
Fortunately, they are still in the playoffs race at fifth in the table and have three more games to play, but their stars are in a disarray.
Mitchell Starc, their most potent bowling weapon, is unlikely to return after he flew back to Australia following the suspension of IPL due to India-Pakistan tensions.
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Another Aussies, Jake Fraser-McGurk pulled out of the remainder of the tournament prompting DC to sign Mustafizur Rahman.
A revised schedule clashing with the international schedule means they wont have Mustafizur for the playoffs, if they qualify, as he will be reporting to the Bangladesh team set to play a five-match T20I series in Pakistan.
They won’t have Tristan Stubbs for the crucial phase as he will be busy with the South African side set to play the World Test Championship final against Australia.
But much worse news could be on the horizon for Axar and head coach Heman Badani as Indian players could be leaving for England to play in the India ‘A’ shadow tour.
India ‘A’ is set to play two four-day games from May 30 to June 9 which overlaps with the playoffs dates from May 29 to June 3.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar and top-order batter Karun Nair are both named in the India ‘A’ squad and likely to leave after their final league game against Punjab Kings on May 24.
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