Axar Patel: 'I am not following a template' as captain

If a captain is only as a good as his results, Axar Patel is the class-topper at IPL 2025.

He has led Delhi Capitals (DC) to five wins in six games so far - in what is his first season as captain of a team in the competition - and, crucially, has found the right people to do the right jobs for him in crunch situations. Mitchell Starc on Wednesday evening, for example. And a lot of the success is down to "trusting my instincts", Axar said after the Super Over win over Rajasthan Royals (RR).

"You take on the responsibility when you know you will have fun with it. I was doing it for my state team, so I knew what to do and what not to do. So when you get an opportunity to lead a side the way you want to and you can play the game the way you want to, why not?" Axar said at the post-match press conference, where he spent a fair bit of time making wisecracks and laughing.

"I am having a lot of fun on the field and off the field. I am doing what I think is right. I am not following a template. I back myself. I am not too experienced [as a captain] but it's not like I am turning to other people for help. Of course, I listen to everyone, but I back myself for the decisions I am making. Because you need to know what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. I am enjoying myself so far."

Instincts and gut calls are fine, but T20 cricket has evolved so much that it's often what happens in the meeting rooms - plans and tactics using data - that supersedes all else.

"It's not like I only go by my instincts," Axar said. "There is a lot of planning in the background. That is important for my awareness, and it's very useful at times. But it's not like I have all the data in front of me and I am following it word for word - bowl this one against that batter and so on. It doesn't work like that.

"Sometimes someone is in form. I see that as a captain, and I decide based on the match situation. Of course, sometimes instincts kick in. But I will take a call based on what I think is best for the team. I choose the option thinking what will work best. Am I taking a gamble? I go by what, in my mind, is 60-40 or 70-30 in my team's favour. The data is important to know the opposition."

And Axar is sensible enough despite the lack of experience in leading teams to know how to deal with the mistakes he is bound to make from time to time.

"I can't speak for other captains, but the way I see it, if I have made a mistake, what's the problem with owning up to it," he said. "But I won't necessarily call it a mistake. If two left-hand batters are out there and you need to get an over out of the way, you take a tactical decision based on your resources. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I can't call it a mistake. It's a decision that didn't work. If it works, you get praised. If it doesn't, you get criticised. I just do what I feel is right."

That's an almost constant refrain for Axar - "I do what I feel is right". Like when it comes to creating a happy atmosphere for the players but also making sure he is respected as the captain of the ship.

"I want to keep the team environment friendly and lively, but no one should take things for granted"

"I think it shows on my face. Is the captain angry right now, is he a bit serious…," he joked, before elaborating. "It's a thin line. I want to keep the team environment friendly and lively, but no one should take things for granted. No one should think that the captain is only having fun. There is a line. What needs to be done to win the game needs to be done first. Then we should have fun. It's working at the moment. I believe that if you're having fun, you do better."

'I wasn't able to put pressure on the injured finger'

Axar has bowled just 17 overs in his six games so far - the wicket of Riyan Parag on Wednesday was his first - and he said it was because of a cut in the index finger of his bowling hand.

"During the Champions Trophy, I got a cut in this finger," Axar said, holding the finger up. "The skin isn't properly back yet. And bowling was a little difficult because the skin would keep peeling. So I was being careful. It's only when I felt that the team needed me to bowl that I bowled one or two overs. The whole layer of skin came off when I bowled four overs against SRH [Sunrisers Hyderabad]. I wasn't able to put pressure on that finger.

"I felt I was bowling well but wasn't able to have an impact because of this. If I am bowling well, I don't mind if I don't get wickets. I ask myself if I have executed my plan well, and if the answer is yes, I am happy."

As a batter, he has moved himself up and down the middle order, batting at No. 4, 5 and 6 in different games. On Wednesday, Tristan Stubbs walked out before him at No. 5. Axar batted at No. 6 and scored 34 off 14 balls.

"As a batter, it's about doing what the team needs you to do," Axar said. "I think the same way as the captain. I take a call on where to bat based on the resources we have. It's tempting to promote myself, but it's a team game. I kept myself back today since we had a right-left pair going, and asked Stubbs to go ahead of me.

"I think I am batting well for the last one and a half years. But I haven't been able to have an impact with the bat in this tournament. Some soft dismissals, sometimes I was over-aggressive. Today I was clear in my head. I knew whom to target. Instead of targeting the faster bowlers who were bowling slower bouncers, I targeted the spinners, who had three overs left. I didn't play any fancy shots. It worked."

Like most other things he has done so far in IPL 2025, where his side DC are looking like the team to beat at this juncture.