Will Axar Patel be available for Delhi Capitals' last game? ‘Honest answer, I don't know,' says Matthew Mott
Delhi Capitals Assistant coach Matthew Mott said Axar Patel's availability for the side's last game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season is unknown, with the captain missing a crucial game against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Axar's absence was keenly felt on a turning pitch where his MI equivalent Mitch Santner turned up with a match-winning spell to end DC's playoff hopes.
Talking about Axar Patel's availability, the 51-year-old said, 'The honest answer is I don't fully know. He's not training today. But, we'll find out when we get back there today. Obviously, he wasn't well the other day. He's had a pretty rugged time with a few different little niggle and injuries. I'm sure he's motivated to come out and play, but we'll probably know a little bit more tonight when we go back and see the medical stuff.'
Captaining in Axar's absence, former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis was left rue to the absence of their regular skipper as DC lost convincingly in a must-win match to keep their playoffs hope alive. At the toss, du Plessis had said that missing Axar is the equivalent of missing two players in the side.
'Yeah, I think especially [missed] Axar on a wicket like that,' du Plessis said after the match. 'If you look at the way that Mitch Santner bowled, they're very similar bowlers. To bowl four overs, I think [Santner] only went for ten runs. Axar is that kind of class bowler, international, proven left-arm spinner that on a wicket like that, he would love to bowl in it. But unfortunately, he was very, very sick the last two days.'
Delhi Capitals will look to conclude IPL 2025 on a winning note as they take on Punjab Kings in their last match of the season at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday.
Reflecting on the campaign, Mott said: 'There's still plenty of motivation (to play this last game). Yes, we had a disappointing end to what was an encouraging campaign. We obviously came out of the box in the early stage, won a lot of games early, but the second half has been patchy. So, I think it's an opportunity for us to sign off on a positive note.'
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