"Almost defiant refusal to promote in-form Axar Patel up the batting order" - Sunil Gavaskar slams Delhi Capitals team management

Former Indian player Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at Delhi Capitals team management for not batting all-rounder Axar Patel higher in the batting order.

The Capitals finished in ninth place in the IPL 2023 league stage after suffering nine defeats out of 14 matches. Inconsistency in the batting order and injuries to key players shrank the chances of David Warner's team maintaining a winning momentum.

Axar Patel was one of the top performers of the insipid Capitals side this season, having scored 283 runs at a strike rate of 139.41 and claimed 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.19. Axar was slotted to bat in the lower order (No.6 to No.8) barring a couple of games (at No.5) this season.

Writing in his latest column for Sportstar, Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that the Capitals were stubborn for not moving Axar Patel up in the batting order.

Gavaskar wrote:

"Then there was the stubborn, almost defiant refusal to promote the in-form Axar Patel up the batting order. It prompted Ravi Shastri, who had coached the Indian team until last year and seen the batting ability that Axar has, to question if there was something in the contract that said Patel wouldn’t bat above number 7 in the batting order."

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"Prithvi Shaw has also not been able to come to terms" - Sunil Gavaskar

Indian player Prithvi Shaw, who was one of the four players retained by the Delhi Capitals last season, played only eight matches this season. He was used as an impact player in the second half of the season.

Shaw managed to score just 106 runs in eight games at an average of 13.25 and a strike rate of 124.71 with his best score being 54 against Punjab Kings.

Explaining the difficulties faced by Shaw in a dismal season with the bat, Sunil Gavaskar mentioned:

"Prithvi Shaw has also not been able to come to terms with the delivery around the ribcage, and the result has been a shortage of runs from some of the most promising and prolific young players in the country."

Defending champions Gujarat Titans will face MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday, May 23, at the MA. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.