The former Indian opener criticized the Delhi Capitals for their inability to fully capitalize on the player's skills
Aakash Chopra has identified a Delhi Cpaitals all-rounder as one of the most underutilized players in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The former Indian opener criticized the Delhi Capitals for their inability to fully capitalize on the player’s skills as a spin-bowling all-rounder, especially considering the team’s wealth of resources and expertise.
During the season, Axar Patel showcased his talent by claiming 11 wickets in 14 matches for the Delhi Capitals at an impressive economy rate of 7.19. Despite being positioned low in the batting order, he managed to score 283 runs, making him the second-highest run-scorer for the franchise.
Echoing on the same lines, on the ‘AakashVani’ show on JioCinema, Chopra picked some of the players who were not used effectively by their franchises. Regarding Axar, he said, “The first player who comes to my mind, although he still performed well, his name used to be there in the most valuable players’ list. Imagine if this player had been in MS Dhoni’s team, he might have been this tournament’s best player, his name is Axar Patel. He was not getting to bat.”
Chopra also highlighted that Shane Watson acknowledged the need to send Axar up the order but clarified that it was not within his authority to make that decision.
Notably, the team suffered greatly from the absence of Rishabh Pant due to injury as his aggressive tactics would have been invaluable during the middle overs against spinners, given his excellent footwork. Furthermore, David Warner’s captaincy came under scrutiny.
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DC’s head coach and skipper, David Warner did not provide sufficient opportunities to the batters as there was frequent chopping and changing in the lineup which ultimately hindered the team’s performance. DC finished the season in the ninth spot with just 5 wins from 14 games.
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