IPL Auction 2022: 3 reasons why Delhi Capitals retaining Axar Patel is a good move

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) have decided to retain left-arm spinner Axar Patel for the IPL 2022 season.

According to a report in ESPN Cricinfo, DC have retained Axar, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and Anrich Nortje for the upcoming IPL season. Shreyas Iyer, who was the captain of the franchise before the leadership was handed over to Pant, has decided to go back into the auction. Pant was named captain after Iyer injured his shoulder ahead of IPL 2021 and the franchise is keen to retain the keeper-batter as leader.

As for Axar, he is a highly experienced IPL performer, having claimed 95 wickets in 109 matches. According to reports, the spinner was picked over senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has been solid for DC over the last couple of seasons.

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Axar Patel: An asset to Delhi Capitals

While some critics may debate the merits of DC retaining Axar over the likes of Dhawan and Kagiso Rabada, we tell you three reasons why it is a smart move.

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#1 Axar’s versatile bowling skills

Axar Patel celebrates a wicket in the IPL. Pic: IPLT20.COM

27-year-old Axar is a very flexible bowler. He can open the bowling, do the job for the franchise in the middle overs and even bowl at the death if needed. As seen during IPL 2021, he even won DC a match by bowling the Super Over against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Chennai. Standing up to legends like David Warner and Kane Williamson, he conceded only seven runs to help DC clinch a thrilling contest.

Axar has amazing confidence in his own ability, which is evident from the fact that he convinced Pant to give him the Super Over ahead of pacer Avesh Khan. He then walked the talk with a superb over under pressure. It must be mentioned here that he was making a comeback after having missed the initial matches due to COVID-19. The display was thus proof of his mental strength as well.

Axar also has the ability to pick wickets at crucial junctures in a game and has often brought DC back into a match from tough situations. He had an impressive IPL 2021 season, claiming 15 wickets from 12 matches at a strike rate of 18.40. DC will have high hopes from him for IPL 2022 as well.

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#2 His excellent economy

Axar Patel’s economy is one of his greatest assets. Pic: IPLT20.COM

Keeping things extremely tight is one of Axar’s greatest assets with the ball. Whether picking up wickets or not, Axar rarely goes for runs because of his near-immaculate line and length. He has an overall career economy rate of 7.22 even after having played over 100 IPL games.

Axar’s economy has been even better over the last two IPL seasons. In IPL 2020, while he only claimed nine wickets in 15 games, he went at merely 6.41 runs per over. This season, he picked up more wickets while again maintaining a stranglehold on the opposition batters. Axar’s 15 wickets came at an economy of 6.41.

Over the last five IPL seasons, only once has Axar ended with an economy rate of over 8. This happened in 2018 when he claimed only three wickets in nine matches and went at 8.38. Axar has been a transformed bowler since, which has reflected in his numbers, none more strikingly than in his economy rate.

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#3 His all-round skills

Axar Patel batting in the IPL. Pic: IPLT20.COM

The stats may not show it but Axar is more than just a quality left-arm spinner. He is reasonably capable with the bat. DC haven’t needed his services with the willow a lot since they possess such a competent batting line up. Axar only faced 40 deliveries in the entire IPL 2021 season.

However, if we look at his early years in the IPL, when he was with Punjab Kings (PBKS), Axar made a number of handy contributions down the order. He had a highest score of 42* in IPL 2014, contributed a total of 206 runs in the IPL 2015 season and 227 runs at a strike rate of 140.12 during the 2017 season.

In IPL 2020, he slammed three sixes off Ravindra Jadeja in the last over of a match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to help DC pull off a thrilling win.

Apart from his lower-order skills with the bat, Axar is also a safe fielder. He rarely drops catches and is a good ground fielder as well. In a nutshell, he is a complete T20 package, which justifies why DC have retained him ahead of a few other big names.