Why Axar Patel Is Not Playing For DC vs PBKS In IPL 2025 – Explained

Delhi Capitals stand-in captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bowl in their Indian Premier League match against Punjab Kings here on Saturday. Karun Nair, who was on Saturday named in the Indian team for the Test series in England, returned to the DC playing XI. Regular captain Axar Patel is not playing yet again. While Faf du Plessis did not divulge the details on the reason behind Axar missing again, he had missed DC’s previous match against Mumbai Indians as he was ‘really sick’. That match took place on May 21. He had a bout of flu. It is very likely he hasn’t recovered.  

PBKS have already qualified for the playoffs with eight wins in twelve matches and are currently third in the points table. They defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the previous match and will be keen to secure a top 2 spot with a win here.

On the other hand, the DC are eliminated after the loss to the Mumbai Indians in the previous game. They will be keen to finish their season on a positive note.

“We will have a bowl. I think today it is 50-50. Just the makeup of the side. We are playing an extra batter. It helps while chasing. It has been very frustrating. We started well. Then went on a roller coaster. We have played enough T20 cricket to understand. We played well in the last game for the first 17 overs. Then lost focus. We are playing for the fifth spot. We had our goals to get into the top four,” Faf du Plessis said after winning the toss.

“Definitely happy faces. I am not satisfied and content. We want to build momentum from here. Each and every individual is performing for the team. Job half done as of now. Important to stay in the present and seize every possible chance. Inglis and Stoinis come back into the side,” Shreyas Iyer said.

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (w), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh.

Delhi Capitals: Faf du Plessis (c), Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs (w), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar. 

With ANI inputs