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Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has criticized Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel for throwing his teammates under the bus amid the team’s struggles in IPL 2026.
With 5 wins in 12 matches, Delhi is barely alive in the race for the playoffs in this tournament. The team was almost out of the competition but a spectacular win over Punjab Kings in Dharamshala kept their hopes alive.
Now, even if Delhi wins both its remaining matches, it will not only need help from other results but will also see a significant jump in its net run rate.
Akshar Patel singles out Kuldeep Yadav
Actually, Kuldeep was ruled out of DC’s match against Punjab Kings on Monday. This was one of five changes that the Capitals made for that match in a bid to break their two-match losing streak.
However, this specific instance came after DC’s loss to Chennai Super Kings on May 5. In that match, Sanju Samson’s brilliant 87* made DC’s target of 156 look very light.
After the match, Axar Patel said that he definitely misses Kuldeep Yadav. Against CSK, Axar took 1 wicket and conceded just 25 runs in his four overs, while Kuldeep Yadav took 3 wickets for 34 runs, with Samson particularly tough on him.
“But I think I missed my partner Kuldeep in bowling,” Akshar had said after the match.
“A mature captain never names his players in public” – Mohammad Kaif
Kaif criticized Axar Patel for not being mature about Kuldeep Yadav’s poor form in IPL 2026. He said that the DC captain should not have taken the name of his partner in public and experienced captains should avoid taking names of individuals.
Kaif said on his YouTube channel, “A mature captain never names any of his players publicly or degrades his player. He does not openly blame him. I can understand that Kuldeep has gone through a tough phase this season. He has not bowled that well and has not taken many wickets. But ever since he joined Delhi, he has been a proven bowler.”
Kaif stressed that even if some players are performing poorly, it does not mean that a captain should unknowingly name and shame those players.
He said, “Forget just the IPL, whether you talk about India in ODIs or T20s over the last few years, they have performed well consistently. Yes, this season has been a bit quiet for them and their bowling has not been the best. But you should never take any player’s name publicly. Instead, you should just say that things have not been good as a team.”
Poor form of Akshar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav in IPL 2026
Even though all the Delhi Capitals players are struggling in IPL 2026, Axar’s own bowling form has been respectable to some extent.
Axar Patel’s form with the bat has been very poor, but he has managed to become the highest wicket-taker for his team so far in IPL 2026. Axar’s 10 wickets in 12 matches have come at an average of 29 and an economy of around 8.
On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav’s performance has been very poor. He has taken only 7 wickets in 11 matches at an average of over 50 and an economy rate of 10.67 runs per over.
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