DC’s assistant coach says Axar “leverages off a lot of senior players and coaches”
Ashish Pant09-Apr-2025Axar Patel is not the “only voice” in the Delhi Capitals (DC) changeroom and he makes sure to “leverage off a lot of the other senior players in the group and the coaches” – that’s the observation of assistant coach Matthew Mott.Axar has had a sensational start to his DC captaincy career, winning all three games for his team, the only side unbeaten going into Thursday. This, despite not having a lot of experience in the role. Coming into IPL 2025, he had led his state side Gujarat in only 23 matches across formats and led DC in one game last year.Mott, who himself joined the DC team only ahead of this season, said what made Axar the leader stand out was his ability to ensure that all the players felt a part of the team.Related
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“He’s been amazing,” Mott said ahead of DC’s outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Bengaluru. “Obviously, I didn’t have a lot to do with him before this tournament, but he’s just got a great balance on cricket and life.”A lot of the times, he’ll just summarise the group and make sure the players are included, they’re having fun, they’ve got a smile on their face. He talks a lot about that. I think he’s played enough cricket now to know that it can be a pretty fickle game at times. You’re well aware that when you’re winning, it’s all rosy and it’s all good.”I like to think that he’s got that character where if we do have a bad day, he’ll be just as positive. The message will be very similar. I think he also leverages off a lot of the other senior players in the group and the coaches.”He’s not taking it all on himself. I think he’s got some fantastic people around him. He’s got a lot of experience to draw on, particularly at this venue. He doesn’t come across as being the only voice. He wants to leverage off others and make sure he’s getting the best out of the people around him.”Mott was also confident about Jake Fraser-McGurk coming good in IPL 2025 despite a lukewarm start to the tournament. Fraser-McGurk was one of the breakout stars of IPL 2024 where he came in some way into the tournament as a replacement player for Lungi Ngidi and lit up the stage.Jake Fraser-McGurk has “full autonomy” from DC’s leadership•Delhi Capitals
The 22-year-old Fraser-McGurk had smashed 330 runs in nine innings at an average of 36.66 and a barely believable strike rate of 234.04. He is, however, yet to replicate those numbers this season, having managed just 39 runs in three innings with a strike rate of just 100.”I think the role that Jake plays in every side he’s in, it’s high risk, but when he has his day out, it’s what is the goal,” Mott said. “There’s a lot of games to go and he’s got full autonomy from all of our leadership. Axar, in particular, has doubled down on him just playing the way he plays and really take the game on from ball one.”A lot similar to what you see from the likes of Phil Salt and people like that. When you play that high-tempo game, it’s obviously high-risk as well, but he does some things that not many players in the world can do.”We look forward to him playing on a great surface out here that’s known for being a great batting surface as well. I’m sure he’s really looking forward to his next opportunity.”‘Du Plessis moving around a lot better’Faf du Plessis looks set to feature in DC’s next game against his former franchise after sitting out the previous match owing to a groin niggle. He had an extended net session on the eve of the game, hammering a number of solid blows, one of which almost hit the press box windowpane. He later strolled to the main playing surface and shadow practiced for a bit before heading off.Du Plessis, who was RCB captain for three years, has a tremendous record in Bengaluru in the IPL:651 runs in 17 innings at an average of 46.50 and a strike rate of 161.94. He has also shown decent form in the two innings so far this season, with scores of 29 and 50.”I think he’ll get assessed today by the physios,” Mott said of du Plessis. “With a view to playing, he certainly looks like he’s moving around a lot better from the naked eye. The beauty of the schedule so far is we’ve had some really good breaks, and he’s now had a good break.”He’s a key player for us, but what it did show is the depth that we’ve got and the players’ ability to adapt and come in there. I thought KL [Rahul] in the last game was amazing to come in at short notice and play an innings like that to really set us up for the win. If he’s [du Plessis] available or not, I think we can adapt.”