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Captain Axar Patel carries the posters made by Delhi Capitals fans in his kitbag wherever he goes.
Axar Patel has carefully kept the placards in his kitbag. (Credit: X/DelhiCapitals)
Axar Patel has started life as Delhi Capitals captain on a promising note and has already become a fan favourite. There was some buzz when the franchise appointed Axar as its captain ahead of IPL 2025, despite having an experienced KL Rahul in the team.
The spin-bowling allrounder has been able to shut his critics, with DC dominating the league stage under his leadership. They are second on the IPL 2025 points table, having notched six wins in 8 matches. Their most recent victory came against Lucknow Super Giants away from home.
While Rahul scored a match-winning fifty, Axar contributed with an impactful cameo of 34 runs as Delhi comfortably gunned down a target of 160.
After the on-field proceedings were wrapped up in Lucknow, Axar was seen putting a hand-written placard carefully into his kitbag. When asked about the poster, the skipper revealed that it was given by “DC Toli”, the official fan club of Delhi Capitals.
“DC Toli gave this to me in Delhi. Look where I have kept it. I keep it safely in my heart,” Axar said in a video shared by the franchise on social media.
Axar then showed another card, which he received from a fan named M Sai Bhargav.
“He had sent best wishes for me. I have kept it carefully. It is love,” the southpaw smiled.
The clip featured some glimpses of how fondly ‘DC Toli’ welcomed Axar to the national capital ahead of their last home game against the Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Delhi Capitals outclassed Lucknow across departments in their latest outing. With Mukesh Kumar fetching a four-wicket haul, DC restricted their opponents to 159 runs.
Mitchell Starc and Dushmantha Chameera also bowled well and picked up one scalp each.
Abhishek Porel gave Delhi a commanding start, despite losing his opening partner Karun Nair early in the powerplay. While KL Rahul initially anchored the chase, Porel scored a 36-ball 51 before falling victim to a baffling delivery off Aiden Markram.
Following his dismissal, Rahul joined hands with Axar and got the job done.
Delhi Capitals will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their next IPL fixture at home on Sunday, April 27.
