IPL 2023: “Axar Patel Will Be Utilized More This Season”, Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has asserted that he wants to bring more out of India and Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023), scheduled to start later this month. Primarily a spinner, Axar showed his class with the bat in the recently concluded four-match Test series against Australia. While batting in the lower middle-order, Axar scored 264 runs in four games during the just-finished Test series against Australia, including three half-centuries.

He bailed out his team whenever the team was in a tricky situation. He garnered praise from all corners of the world for his brilliance with the bat. Continuing the trend, Axar’s coach at Delhi Capitals and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting hailed Axar’s improvement with the bat and also wishes to utilize more of his skills in the upcoming edition.

Ponting Wants Axar to Bat at 6

“I want to get a bit more out of him (Axar Patel) at the Delhi Capitals this year, that’s for sure. A few times last year we sort of batted him up a little bit higher. I think he’s good enough to bat No. 6 probably in an IPL team. Any of these guys I’ve had a chance to work with at Delhi through my time there, even those, as I said, those couple of years at Mumbai, to see them progress and get better and start having a lot of success on the international stages is, it’s great. It’s great fun to see it and makes coaching really rewarding,” said Ricky Ponting.

Capitals Started Their Preparations for IPL 2023

The Delhi Capitals have already begun their preparation for the IPL 2023 by holding a practice session at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. DC’s Director of Cricket and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is overlooking proceedings till the arrival and Ponting. The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey, Sarfaraz Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, and others joined the DC camp in Delhi ahead of the official session. Axar hasn’t joined the team owing to national duties.

With the 16th edition of the biggest T20 league just around the corner, the Delhi Capitals management will have to find a suitable replacement for their skipper Rishabh Pant, who has been ruled out of the cash-rich league after suffering a car accident last year. The team is in search of a replacement player. DC had a poor 2022 campaign where they failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing fifth in the points table. Delhi Capitals will take on Lucknow Super Giants in their season opener on April 1 at their home ground- Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.