'I don't mind owning up to mistakes' - Axar on tactical risks, captaincy

In his first season as DC captain, Axar Patel talks about backing his gut, learning from mistakes and creating a relaxed but focused team atmosphere © BCCI/IPL
It's been a fairy tale 12 months for Axar Patel. After missing the 2023 ODI World Cup due to injury, the all-rounder then played key roles in India's title victories in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. The success graph went higher when he was appointed as captain of the Delhi Capitals but it also brought pressure and expectations with it.

After all, DC were a franchise that hadn't won an IPL title and had only made it to the final once. However, six games into the season, the team is sitting pretty at the top of the points table with five wins. Most of the victories have been the kind that strengthens a team's morale, the latest being the Super Over win against Rajasthan Royals. Positive results do help but Axar maintains that he never felt captaincy as an excess baggage.

"As a captain, you need to enjoy the responsibility. That's why I took up the role," said Axar at the post-match press conference after the DC-RR clash.

"I was doing all this for State cricket. So, I know what to do and what not to do. When you get a chance to run the team according to your standards, and play the way you want to play cricket, if you get a chance, why to let it go? I'm enjoying both on and off the field. I'm enjoying it."

India's successful captains over the years have been of different kinds. While MS Dhoni relies on instinct and the game's finer details, Virat Kohli has been about creating an aggressive team atmosphere while Rohit Sharma has often stressed on intent as well as matchups. It's still very early days to judge which route Axar takes but the one thing that stands out is his honesty. The 31-year-old is known to speak his mind and is willing to experiment as captain, well aware that not all days will be sweet for him.

"I'm doing whatever I feel is right and backing myself. It's not like I will listen to lots of opinions, yes I do listen to suggestions but ultimately, I have to make the decisions. It's important for me to back myself, so that I can learn from the mistakes whenever something goes wrong. I'm enjoying (the challenge of captaincy)."

Once the mega auction was done, KL Rahul was touted to be DC's captain, given that the Karnataka batter had been in the role since his move to Punjab Kings. However, he turned down the leadership role with an eye on resetting his T20 ambitions, which meant an opportunity for Axar. In a side that is largely brimming with youngsters, Axar has a key role to play in maintaining the atmosphere of the side. Known for his happy-go-lucky nature, the all-rounder explained the importance of striking a balance between fun and discipline.

"I think they can tell from my face whether their captain is angry or if he's a little serious." says Axar while breaking into a smile."Obviously, it's a thin line. As a captain, I have to take care of the team and the atmosphere. But at the same time, it shouldn't appear like I'm taking it lightly. It shouldn't be like, the captain is joking around. But I've drawn that line. I've told them that they can do what they want as long as the job is executed well on the field. Until the job isn't done, there shouldn't be any lazing around. I know that I have to maintain the atmosphere but also be serious at the same time.

"I think the key is to enjoy your cricket. I feel that you play your best cricket when you are enjoying the game. So, that's what I'm striving for."

Axar has had his share of misadventures in terms of tactics in these six games. The notable of those have involved using Tristan Stubbs as a bowling option. In the game against LSG, the South African was thrown into the mix against a marauding Nicholas Pooran who belted 28 off the over. The explanation for the move was understandably a matchup of offspin against left-hander batter but against arguably the most feared spin-hitter in world cricket, it was fraught with danger. And backfire it did. Axar dabbled with the move against RR too, with Nitish Rana and Yashasvi Jaiswal batting, but the over went for 12 runs.

Talking about these decisions, Axar termed the moves as 'tactical' and didn't seem fussed about the results, choosing instead to go with an open mind. While cricketers and captains in general aren't keen to accept their mistakes, Axar stressed that he didn't mind to own up.

"I don't know about others but I don't mind owning up to mistakes because these are opportunities to learn. However, I wouldn't call this as a mistake. It was more of a tactical call. If you are playing against two lefties and you have to sneak in an over, 'then what can you do? What resources do you have?' And at that time if I feel I can use this, I go with my gut feel. But sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So, I can't really call it a mistake. You can say that the decision didn't work. When they work, you get praises and when they don't, you get a lot of criticism. It's okay."

Flexibility is key to captaincy, especially in T20 cricket where it is hazardous to go with predefined tactics. Axar explains how DC approached their bowling innings in a different way to their RR counterparts. For a large part of DC's innings, the surface appeared to have a bit of hold in it, which meant that the slower balls did stick on the surface. However, as the game went on, the track eased out and dew then allowed batters to deal with the slower balls a lot better than in the first innings. All this played a part in Axar's thinking during the death overs plans.

"The way the wicket went in the first inning, it looked like the ball was getting stuck. The slower bouncer was getting stuck on the pitch and it was not that easy to hit them. But when we came to bowl, I saw that our bowler were not looking that effective with this tactic. It wasn't holding as much onto the pitch.

"So, then I changed my plan. And I brought Mohit for the 19th over because he had been doing this role well for Gujarat for the last two years. So, I knew what he could do in the death overs. Mukesh wasn't having a good outing, so I thought of holding him back. And then with Starc's two overs at the death with right-left combination, I was confident he could beat the batters with pace. He has a good yorker, good slower bouncer and all that. The idea was to mix things up but when we got Nitish's wicket (with a perfect yorker), I felt that we shouldn't think too much (and stick to yorkers)."

While Axar the captain has been in decent form, his individual form has been underwhelming. His left-arm spin was wicketless until this fixture when he finally broke the deadlock with the breakthrough of Riyan Parag. Apart from not getting wickets, Axar's economy rate has also been unusually high. His batting, however, has had its moments, like the 14-ball 34 against RR, an innings that was priceless in the context of the game. The knock came at a stage when DC were in danger of folding for an under-par total. The all-rounder isn't too worried about his own bowling form and also had a revelation to make.

"In Champions Trophy, my finger got cut and I have been nursing myself ever since. I have tried to bowl within myself (in the IPL) and only when the team has really needed me. I did try to stretch myself in the SRH contest but it backfired as the whole skin layer came out. So I have been saving myself.

"I wasn't able to bowl at my speeds. But, because of that, I was also thinking that I was bowling well, but I wasn't able to put the impact I wanted. And, I think, the way my finger is now, it's good. I think I got my first wicket too, if the catch was taken, I could have had two and if we reviewed, maybe three. But that's how it goes.

"It's okay, it's part of the game. I'm not thinking much about it. I'm just thinking that if I'm bowling well, if I'm bowling the right balls and the right areas. As long as I do that, I don't care about the wickets."

Winning is a habit that no team wants to let go of. And if you can win games out of nowhere like DC have a few times already this season, then nothing like it. For someone in his debut captaincy season, Axar is visibly thrilled and enjoying all the adventures. He knows that the Capitals can still improve a lot and when there is that scope with the team already on five wins in six games, it is a good space to be in.

"Nobody plans for these (Super Overs), right? It's about going with the flow. Being in my first season as captain, I was a bit numb when I realised that we have a Super Over to deal with. But such games show the team's morale and the confidence that the side has. In such games, you get to see the character of the team.

"It was good for me that I got to know what the team can do and what they can't. As a captain, I'm very happy with my team, the way they're playing cricket and executing the planning. We'll have to improve our fielding, but we'll see in the next match."