Delhi Capitals might need to reshuffle their batting order.
Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Axar Patel has long been a saviour with the willow, doing all the tough work in the most precarious situations. However, his recent issues against pacers have become too obvious to ignore. While he was always a spin hitter, Axar was fairly competent against pace, too, until recently.
Since 2025, he has had an average of just 14.53 and a strike rate of 114.73 against fast bowlers. The southpaw has lost his wicket 15 times at a balls-per-dismissal ratio of 12.66. He takes as many as 8.26 deliveries for every boundary and plays around 35.78% of dot balls.
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In contrast, Axar Patel has averaged 27.66 and struck at 163.81 against spin in the same period. He has found a boundary every 4.60 deliveries. The number of dismissals has also reduced to just nine.
Delhi Capitals have Nitish Rana at No.3, Sameer Rizvi at No.4, followed by Axar Patel at 5. They are all proficient against spin and susceptible to pace, even though Rizvi has improved drastically on shorter-length balls. Rana looked very limited against fast bowlers in the LSG fixture and has been dismissed seven times at an average of 20.14 since last year.
Rizvi’s numbers have been very good, but hard lengths into the body could still trouble him in the middle overs. So, DC’s middle order becomes a bit one-dimensional, with two clear vulnerabilities against pace and one who has only made recent progress. The lower middle-order is still sorted with Tristan Stubbs and David Miller bringing brute power.
Now, the real problem is that both openers – KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka – are slow starters against spin, so Mumbai Indians (MI) might use Mitchell Santner early in the innings. He will need to bowl against two RHBs early and target weak links. Santner has been very limited against LHBs, and he will be frontloaded before southpaws in the middle start coming to maximise his bowling value.
Meanwhile, Trent Boult hasn’t had enough powerplay success, and with this being a day game, his usage with the new ball will be minimal again. Hence, MI can use as many as three pacers – Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shardul Thakur – sporadically in the middle overs to test Delhi Capitals. There are chances of DC finding themselves in a tricky spot, as was the case in the previous game.
Delhi Capitals might need to drop Nitish Rana, who is the weakest link in this lineup. Apart from his below-par pace game, Rana has also been dismissed way too often, even against spin in recent times, though he has maintained a high strike rate. Then, they have other spin-hitters in Rizvi and Axar, who are not as limited against pace.
DC should use David Miller more wisely, not only in this game but throughout the season. In the lower order, he might be pretty much underused in this setup because they already have the likes of Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma. Vipraj Nigam is also more than capable against fast and spin bowlers to handle the lower order effectively.
Miller can be used at No.3 or 4, based on who’s bowling from the opponent. He brings among the best pace skills in this lineup and can’t be contained by left-arm spin or leg-spin either. He will shield batters like Rizvi and Axar from hard lengths, while these two can bash off-spin should the teams try to use it against the South African batter.
So, Delhi Capitals will get a solid pace hitter who understands how to counter early movement, build innings, and can’t be confined against spin on flat surfaces. If Rana plays, they suddenly become a lot more susceptible to pace and end up playing one spin-hitter too many in the middle order. Nissanka, Rahul, Miller, Rizvi (interchangeable with Miller), and Axar should be the top five in IPL 2026.
As for this game, MI will likely include Santner, who has joined the squad, and drop Allah Ghazanfar, the only possible threat to Miller. They have a leg spinner in Mayank Markande, who can’t be used much against those spin-hitters and Miller. This is the ideal time to use him at No.3 or 4.
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