Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Axar Patel took the responsibility of answering media queries himself after the team suffered an embarrassing defeat against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Monday. Delhi lost 6 wickets for just 9 runs in the first four overs, leaving the entire camp and local fans stunned. In the press conference, Axar admitted that it is his responsibility to uplift the team and even the support staff after such a humiliating defeat.
The defeat against RCB means that DC have gone on to lose three matches on the trot. The result against Rajat Patidar‘s side saw Axar’s team drop to 7th spot in the points table, making their playoff qualification hopes quite tricky. Axar, however, isn’t thinking of giving up yet and wants to focus on the next matches at hand.
“As a captain, there are a lot of things that you have to learn,” Axar admitted. When asked what he has learned as a captain, Axar replied: “As a captain, you have a lot of responsibilities. Just not players, but support staff, owners, you have to motivate them. My basic theory is you do what you can do, what’s in your control. You have two options: either you can point out someone, or you can think that the batsman didn’t do anything, or the bowler didn’t do anything. You can give yourself excuses. Or, as a team, you can prepare and stay with your team. And, we will fight together.”
The Delhi Capitals skipper was also asked if there would be a plethora of changes after the team’s historic collapse against DC. He hinted at going with a similar combination.
“I don’t think you’ll get results if you make a lot of changes. There won’t be a lot of changes in the team. But yes, it’s important to be mentally stable and move forward together. It’s important to have a mindset and be mentally prepared,” he affirmed.
READ | Axar Patel Delivers Shell-Shocked Statement As Delhi Capitals Get Bowled Out For 75 vs RCB
Defeat Against PBKS Still Haunting DC
When asked about the reason behind such a horror show with the bat, Axar hinted that DC’s result from the previous match, where Punjab Kings chased down a 265-run target against them, was still playing on the minds of the players as they stepped out to face RCB.
“I feel that what happened in the last game was still playing on our minds. Players were probably thinking about how they weren’t able to defend such a big total. You win such games 9 out of 10 times. There was a similar hesitation today. Other than that, it was just bad luck. Batters lost wickets in only the first couple of deliveries they faced. We lost six wickets in 15-16 balls, and I feel the team was agitated because of that,” he said in the press conference.
When asked if there was additional pressure going into the RCB game, Axar said that there’s similar pressure in every game in the IPL.
“It’s not about that we are going to play 6 matches, and there is pressure. I think when we were playing the last 8-9 matches, there was pressure in every match. You can’t say that there will be pressure, or we don’t play with pressure. But at the same time, you have to do what you can and follow your process. You have to move on, and you have to focus and prepare every day. You can’t think that you will go and get an easy win,” he stressed.
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