Will Axar Patel be available for DC's last game? Assistant coach gives update

India Today

Delhi Capitals (DC) will have to wait for skipper Axar Patel's recovery from illness ahead of their IPL 2025 clash against the Punjab Kings, assistant coach Matthew Mott said. "He's [Axar] is not training today. He's had a pretty rugged time with a few niggly injuries as well. 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 staff," Mott said at the pre-match press conference.

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00:00Still plenty of motivation.

00:01I think it's been, for us, a disappointing end

00:04to what was an encouraging campaign.

00:07We obviously came out of the blocks hard early,

00:09won a lot of games early,

00:10but the second half has been very disappointing,

00:13a bit patchy and a bit disjointed.

00:15So I think it's an opportunity for us to sign off

00:18for the Delhi fans more than anything,

00:20to say, don't forget us, we're still a good team.

00:23We haven't had a great run recently,

00:25but we're still on the cusp of the finals

00:27and hopefully a good performance tomorrow shows that

00:30and gives us something going into next year.

00:34Hi, Matt.

00:36What's the news on Akshar?

00:37We heard his flew the last game.

00:39Is he back fit to tomorrow's game?

00:42The honest answer is I don't fully know.

00:45He's not training today.

00:47But, yeah, we'll find out when we get back there today.

00:50Obviously, he wasn't well the other day.

00:52He's had a pretty rugged time

00:53with a few different little niggly injuries and stuff as well.

00:56So, I'm sure he's motivated to come out and play, but we'll probably know a little bit more tonight

01:00when we go back and see the medical staff.

01:04Hi. Suhas here from Tanks of India.

01:06You were in contention for the playoffs in the last match against Mumbai Indians,

01:11but you did not have a very good game.

01:14Is the lack of major players affected your team or performance, or is there any other reason?

01:21No, look, I think for a lot of the first half of that game,

01:25we were pretty happy with where we were at.

01:26I think we bowled exceptionally well, and probably their finishing with the bat turned the tide of the match.

01:32I think, you know, at one stage there, we were hoping to keep them under 150,

01:36but they got away from us at the end, and they certainly, you know, the crowd come alive then,

01:40the momentum swung, and we never really wrestled it back.

01:43But I think we definitely, throughout the second half of the campaign,

01:47I don't think we've had the luck that we probably had in the first full five games,

01:50and, you know, that can often be the difference in T20.

01:53You know, I definitely thought we got the rub of the green in the first few games we played,

01:57and we were, you know, sort of aware of that.

02:00But at the back end, you know, like inside edges, little things like that, half catches, didn't go our way.

02:05But for us, we just need to be a little bit better next year.

02:08I think as a unit, it's hard not to sit back and think what could have been.

02:13Halfway through the tournament, we probably needed to win two more games to assure that spot in the final,

02:19and we weren't good enough as a group to do that.

02:21So that's really disappointing for the whole group, but also for our fans that, you know,

02:26we got their expectations up nice and high, and we weren't able to deliver when it mattered most.

02:31So that's probably the learnings for us as a group.

02:34The next couple of days, we'll sit down as a management group and players group,

02:39work out what we've done well, which is a significant amount of things,

02:42but what we can do a lot better next year as well.

02:44So we're close this year, but not quite good enough.

02:50If you see the tournament, you see, the foreign players have not, barring,

02:57the hospital has been consistent, and so has Marsha's scored a century.

03:04But not many foreign players have done well with the bat.

03:09Maybe some have done well with the ball.

03:11So how do you say that the Indian youngsters are doing better than the important players?

03:19Yeah, I think that's a really good point you make there.

03:22I think coming into the tournament, a lot of people thought it was going to be similar to last year,

03:26high-scoring venues and surfaces.

03:30And I think what the best teams and the teams that are in the finals now have done

03:33is adapted to the conditions.

03:35I think that the wickets have brought the bowlers into the contest a lot more this year.

03:39The general scoring has come down, and the players that have read the conditions the best

03:45have genuinely won matches for their team.

03:48So your point is right.

03:49I think that the local players obviously understand those conditions a bit more,

03:53and it's a bit more of an adjustment perhaps for the foreign players coming in.

03:57So it's something to look at, but it's probably been a very different type of IPL

04:01than most people expected after some of the high-scoring of last year.

04:06What do you think of the youngsters within your team?

04:09Within your team, how are the Indian youngsters with that?

04:12Yeah, very excited.

04:14I was just speaking to Amang before about that.

04:17Someone like Vipi, I think, came in under the radar this year,

04:20and right from the first match has played pivotal innings with the bat.

04:24I thought he was magnificent the other day when he came out and nearly turned the game.

04:28But with the ball, he's been entrusted with big overs, power play overs, crucial overs.

04:36Samir in the last game looked really good.

04:38Abbey throughout has played some really good counter-punching knocks,

04:43and probably his next step is turning them into match-winning contributions.

04:48But throughout, yeah, I think it's exciting, our group.

04:51And we haven't always played our full quota of foreign players,

04:55which just shows how much depth we've got, I guess, with our local talent.

05:02Extending from his question, how your Indian uncapped core has done well this season.

05:06The last game gives you an opportunity to try out a couple of more young players.

05:12We saw Adav Tiwari last game as well.

05:14Didn't have much to contribute, but excited to see what he offers.

05:18So does this match give you an opportunity to try some more uncapped players?

05:24Yes and no.

05:25I'm not on the selection panel, but I would expect that we're going to pick our best team to win tomorrow.

05:30I think it's important for us as a group to finish well and put ourselves in a position to win the match.

05:36So, yeah, I would have thought if it's a line-ball decision, that may happen.

05:41But generally speaking, we'll look at their team, look at the wicket today,

05:45which looks like an absolute belter, and pick our best team to win that match

05:48and finish strongly, which is what all of our group wants.

05:51We'll see you next time.

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