Axar Patel heaps praise on IPL skipper Shreyas Iyer

IPL franchise Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel has heaped praise on Shreyas Iyer, stating that the current Indian cricket team middle-order batsman played a pivotal role in enabling the former to settle swiftly into the Delhi Capitals set-up.

In an Instragam Live interaction with the IPL outfit’s official handle, Axar Patel opened up on the aspects that allowed him to fit in like a glove at the franchise and how the good atmosphere in the dressing room paved the way for a strong performance in IPL 2019.

Specifically talking about the importance of Shreyas Iyer, the IPL 2014 Emerging Player of the Year said,

“I’ve played with Shreyas at India A also, and when I came to Delhi Capitals, it was really easy for me because we bond really well. On the field, he gives freedom to his bowlers and lets you adjust the fields. He is quite patient as well, and I have really enjoyed playing under him,” Axar said.

In fact, Shreyas’ propensity to back his players to the hilt and accord them the requisite freedom was also backed up by head coach Ricky Ponting. A while ago, Rishabh Pant had emphasised the part the Australian had played in helping the wicket-keeper churn out sizzling performances in the IPL 2019.

Ricky Ponting played a pivotal role in Delhi Capitals making the IPL play-offs

'Ponting gave us separate Player of the Match awards during IPL'

And, Axar highlighted another trait of the former Australian skipper, mentioning that he used to reward players with separate Player of the Match awards, thereby providing them adequate incentive to keep performing.

“Ricky would give a separate Man of the Match Award in the dressing room for someone who used to contribute to the team. I ended up winning it five times and it ended up being a good recognition for me. Personally, it felt good to have contributed to the team’s victories,” Axar elaborated.

Before IPL 2019, Axar Patel had only represented Kings XI Punjab in the cash-rich league, meaning that he potentially faced a tough bedding in period at his new IPL franchise. However, he explicitly stated that the presence of players he had previously shared dressing rooms with, helped him immensely.

Subsequently, an excellent atmosphere was created at the IPL franchise, thereby allowing them to scale peaks that they hadn’t seen since IPL 2012. To put things into perspective, the Delhi Capitals (Delhi Daredevils then) had failed to make the play-offs since that edition, wherein they eventually lost out to Chennai Super Kings in the 2nd Qualifier.

Thus, it seems that most cogs in the IPL outfit’s machinery are functioning at optimum capacity and the Delhi Capitals might look to harness the potential they have at their disposal. And, as far as they are concerned, perhaps the next edition of the IPL can’t come soon enough.