Cricketer-turned-Commentator Aakash Chopra lambasted Delhi Capitals management for underutilizing Indian all-rounder Axar Patel, who has been in the form of his life in recent times. David Warner-led side lost their sixth match in the league stage against Sunrisers Hyderabad despite being in a comfortable position chasing a total of 198 runs in 20 overs.
Despite losing their skipper David Warner in the first over, Delhi Capitals were in a good position in the chase at the 11 overs with 112-1, before Delhi Capitals’ middle order fell in packs as Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan, and Priyam Garg dismissed cheaply by Hyderabad bowlers.
Speaking on his youtube channel, Aakash Chopra was miffed by Delhi Capitals’ decision to hold back their star performer Axar Patel in the lower down the order as he would have done the job for his team in end overs.
“What are the Delhi guys doing? Can you not use Axar Patel properly? Why is it so difficult to understand that this player has the might, he is batting very well, and he likes this pitch a lot?” Aakash Chopra Questioned.
Chopra feels that the left-hander should walk out to the bat after Mitchell Marsh as the batter before failing to make an impact in the innings.
“Despite Mitchell Marsh scoring runs, the fact is that if anyone has batted with responsibility and who can attack as well, that’s Axar Patel. You lost this match by nine runs and the three batters who went ahead of Axar Patel played 22 balls and scored 22 runs.”
Delhi Capitals had a disastrous start to the IPL 2023, as they lost the opening five games in the league before staging a comeback against Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad to register back-to-back wins, failed against 2016-champions in reverse encounters, as they conceded too many runs in the final overs.
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The former Indian opener also expressed his concerns about Sunrisers Hyderabad’s strategy to move Abhishek Sharma up and down the order in batting, as he was not given a proper slot to bat in for the 2016 champion. Opening the batting against Delhi, the Punjab youngster played an explosive knock of 67 runs off 36 balls including 12 boundaries and a six in his innings.
“If you are Hyderabad’s fan, ask Hyderabad what they are doing. You got Abhishek Sharma to open in the first match, he got out for zero off Trent Boult’s ball and you moved him down the order. Then you got him to open against Chennai, he scored runs and you demoted him again in the next match,” Aakash Chopra added.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have tried different openings pairs, with shuffling between Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, and Abhishek Sharma in that opening slot, and with innings like this, the left-hander opener would seal that opening spot for the next few games.