‘A mature captain never…’: Former India cricketer questions Axar Patel’s leadership

Mohammad Kaif criticizes Axar Patel for publicly blaming teammates Kuldeep Yadav During Delhi Capitals’ tough IPL 2026 campaign. Delhi Capitals are still under pressure after losing seven of their 12 matches this season despite a wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in Dharamshala on Monday, keeping their hopes of making the playoffs slim. Their spin department also continues to be questioned, especially the performance of Axar and Kuldeep.

Following Delhi’s earlier defeat chennai super kingsAksa spoke openly about Kuldeep’s struggles, which Kraft believes should not have happened. Kaif said on his YouTube channel that experienced captains avoid provoking players in public, especially those with Kuldeep’s record. “A mature captain never names his players publicly or lets his players down. He doesn’t blame him publicly. I can understand that Kuldeep went through a tough phase this season – he didn’t bowl well and didn’t take many wickets. But he has been a proven bowler ever since he joined Delhi,” Kaif said. Kraft further backed Kuldeep’s long-term value, highlighting his consistency in different formats for Delhi and India over the years. “Forget the IPL; even if you talk about India in ODIs or T20Is over the years, his performances have been consistent. Yes, the season has been a bit quiet for him and his bowling has not been at his best. But you should never name a player. Instead, you should simply say that as a team, things are not going well,” he added. Interestingly, during Delhi’s dramatic chase against Kings XI Punjab, Aksa himself gave the captain’s knock. As DC chased 211 and the score fell to 33/3, Axar struck 56 off 30 balls and formed a crucial partnership with David Miller to rejuvenate the innings. After the win, Axar praised the character shown by his team and insisted that Delhi had performed well with cricket despite failing to win crucial moments earlier in the season. “I’ve been saying we were a good team, played good cricket, but didn’t win the big moments,” Aksa said after the game. “I’m really happy with the way we played and hopefully we can continue to play like that.” He also praised the youngsters in the squad, adding: “Given the type of cricket we are playing and the strength of the bench we have, the future is in good hands. It’s a good sign that the youngsters are stepping up in this situation.”