Axar Patel’s batting the centerpiece of Delhi Capitals’ lean returns in IPL 2026

Axar Patel has batted 8 times in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Yet, somehow, he’s hit just 3 boundaries (four). At this moment, the Delhi Capitals (DC) captain averages just 5.50 runs per innings. Kagiso Rabada has better numbers than him.

From 2022 to 2025, Axar was Delhi’s best player. In this period, he scored 963 runs at 30.09 while striking at 143.94. David Warner was the only one with more runs than him. He took 33 wickets as well, the fourth most. Although his bowling has been fine in 2026, 9 wickets, his batting has been down in the dumps.

A cricketer might be able to point out the technical deficiencies leading to his dry run. But, as an observer of the game from afar, one can ascertain a few possible reasons behind his failures. Last season, Axar spent the majority of the time batting at numbers four and five. This year, he’s batted there just thrice.

What’s going on with Axar Patel’s batting?

One might ask, ‘What difference does just one spot make?’ Well, quite a bit. You see, Axar’s a spin hitter. He used himself in the role last season. Even Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir have used him in the middle order, in ODIs and T20Is. But this season, he hasn’t been able to enter at the perfect time.

Delhi Capitals have won just 4 out of 10 matches in IPL 2026 | Image Credit: Avijit Das/ZUMA Press Wire via Alamy

Delhi’s batting, in terms of consistency and stability, has been all over the shop. Some of this has been due to tactics. Shuffling players around, like Abhishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, and Karun Nair, hasn’t boded well. More often than not, Delhi have found themselves 2 or 3 down in the powerplay.

In some cases, Axar has entered at his preferred time, 7 to 12 overs. A couple of times, the wickets have fallen in heaps, and he can’t go hard, while the remaining times he’s failed. Let’s get into failures. You see, the usage of spinners has diminished in IPL 2026. Teams aren’t trusting them, especially in high-scoring games. This handicaps Axar.

Axar Patel innings by innings in IPL 2026

Considering Axar isn’t the best hitter of pace, he hasn’t been able to maximise the best skills in his batting armoury. Despite knowing pace causes him issues, he has himself come to bat in the powerplay. That doesn’t make much sense. So, his own utilisation has been an issue.

But there’s a broader point as well. It’s clear that his batting has declined. The DC vs KKR match proves that. He spent 22 balls in the middle and wasn’t able to hit even a boundary. He played 11 dots and took singles on the remaining balls. For someone who can play well on tough spinning wickets in Tests, the inability to even take singles is a major issue.

Axar’s batting has been on a decline for a little while. But since India doesn’t use him enough in T20Is, it’s been hidden. Now, it’s come to the forefront. At this time, his bowling in the shorter format has improved. But it seems like it’s happened at the expense of his batting.

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