Watch: “They lost at…”- Ravichandran Ashwin slams Axar Patel’s captaincy for DC’s defeat against SRH in IPL 2026

When Axar Patel revealed that the Delhi Capitals decided to bring Nitish Rana during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, it felt like Rana would hardly get a few part-timing overs. 

But instead, the off-spinner, due to the presence of the top three left-handed batters in the line-up, rolled his arms for four overs and gave away 55 runs without any damage at an economy rate of 13.80. Meanwhile, the two world-class spinners, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, bowled a combined total of four overs for 1/53.

Ravichandran Ashwin blames Axar’s captaincy for DC’s defeat to SRH

The former Indian spin all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin, has slammed Axar’s leadership for Delhi’s loss to Hyderabad. He reckoned that it was a blunder from the veteran not to complete his and Kuldeep’s quota of four overs. 

“This hasn’t happened for the first time in this tournament. In DC's bowling attack, they have Axar , Kuldeep, Lungi, Mukesh, and Natarajan. But the first player to complete his 4-over quota was Nitish Rana, and that's where they lost the match. I submit my arguments here.” Ashwin expressed on his YouTube channel.

Watch the video here: 

The Chennai-born reckoned that Kuldeep, just like the last game, could have picked a few wickets in this clash had he been given the chance. At the end of the day, it was their only job in the game.

“See, as I said earlier, even if you are a good bowler, you can go for runs in the T20 format. Natarajan was excellent in this game, but he still went for 40 runs off his four overs. So, Nitish giving away 50 runs isn’t the talking point. But I am saying when you have two world-class spinners, let them bowl. It’s okay if they leak 50 runs.” The off-spinner addressed.

See Also: Watch: Sakib Hussain dismisses KL Rahul for 37 during SRH vs DC clash in IPL 2026

“Delhi picked up two wickets in this clash- one was Travis Head, and the other was the run-out. Axar dismissed the left-handed batter Head. Kuldeep was expensive in the first two overs, but even in the last game, he was before coming back in his third over and picking up two wickets on a small ground in Bengaluru. Their job is to bowl.” Ashwin concluded.

Delhi loses control in middle muddle of IPL 2026

It was the second defeat in the last three encounters for the Capitals, who find themselves among the middle muddle of the points table with three victories and as many defeats in the six encounters at a net run rate of -0.130. They need a few things to think ahead of their next fixture against the Punjab Kings.

On the other hand, Hyderabad lifts itself to the third position with three successive victories at a healthy net run rate of +0.5999, with four victories in seven games.

The Ishan Kishan-led side will face the Rajasthan Royals next at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.