“He is trying, but it’s just not happening for him” - Axar Patel on David Warner’s struggles with the bat

Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Axar Patel has stated that skipper David Warner is trying his best with the bat but lamented that things are not happening for him. He further pointed out that with others in the batting department also struggling, Warner has had to rein himself in at times.

Warner is the second-leading run-getter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, with 209 runs from four matches at an average of 52.25. However, his runs have come at a poor strike rate of 114.84. On Tuesday, April 11, the Australian batter scored a snail-paced 51 off 47 balls against Mumbai Indians (MI).

It needed a blazing knock of 54 in 25 balls from Axar to lift DC past 170. However, it wasn’t enough as Mumbai chased down the target by six wickets off the last ball of the match. At the post-match conference, Axar was asked about Warner’s batting woes. The vice-captain of the Delhi franchise replied:

“If you talk about the last two-three games, he is trying, but it’s just not happening for him. I don’t know what he is thinking as a batter at that time. When Prithvi (Shaw) is batting with him, he tries to play the anchor role. When wickets are falling from one end, it’s not good to try and keep attacking from the other end as well.”

The 29-year-old added that the coaching staff is constantly discussing Warner’s batting form with the captain, especially the strike rate issue. He elaborated:

“Everyone has spoken to him. Ricky (Ponting), (Shane) Watson, Dada (Sourav Ganguly), all have spoken to him about the strike rate and how he can improve. They also saw some videos. They are working on it.”

Warner hit only six fours in his innings against Mumbai and was dismissed in the penultimate over, miscuing an attempted big hit off Jason Behrendorff.

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“It’s important to stay positive” - Axar Patel on DC’s losing spree

Delhi’s loss to Mumbai was their fourth consecutive defeat in IPL 2023. However, Axar asserted that the team will try and remain positive for the challenges ahead. He said:

“There are two ways to look at it. If you think that things are going wrong, then it will not help in any way. It will only make matters worse. Winning and losing does matter, but it’s important to stay positive and keep a good attitude. That has been the discussion in the camp.”

Delhi’s next match in IPL 2023 will be against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, April 15.