Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin admitted he was genuinely stunned by the way Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel handled his bowling options during their IPL 2026 meeting with Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. Ashwin said he could not quite make sense of the captain’s call-making, especially because part-time bowler Nitish Rana ended up being the first Delhi option to get through the entire four-over quota. All the while, Abhishek Sharma appeared to pick apart the DC bowling unit in a methodical fashion, leaving Ashwin questioning whether the most reliable specialists were used often enough, or at the right moments.
In Ashwin’s view, the numbers told their own story. None of Delhi’s bowlers managed an economy rate below 10.00, and Rana—surprisingly deployed as a frontline choice—was hammered for 53 runs off his four overs, finishing with an economy of 13.25. T Natarajan, typically one of the side’s more trusted picks, also struggled to find control, conceding 40 runs in his spell as SRH’s batters continued to build momentum.
Speaking in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Ashwin took direct aim at the decision to keep leaning on Rana. “It didn’t happen just once; it happened multiple times. Nitish Rana was essentially used as the primary option in the Delhi Capitals attack, despite specialists like Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar, and T Natarajan being available,” Ashwin said. He then highlighted the specific point that, in his mind, summed up the mismanagement: “Who actually completed the first full four-over spell for that attack? It was Nitish Rana. I rest my case, Your Honour.”
Ashwin argued that even if specialist bowlers are more costly in terms of runs on certain days, they should still be treated as the first line of attack rather than being sidelined in favour of part-time alternatives. “I’ve said this before! Even the best bowlers can have an off day. In the T20 format, anyone can concede 50 runs. Take T Natarajan, for instance—he bowled well today but still went for 40 runs. It isn’t a slight against Rana to say he might concede 50, but my point is simple: if you have five specialist bowlers, use them. If they go for runs, so be it—at least you’ve exhausted your primary options,” he added.
Ashwin also felt Axar should have shown more faith in his own resources, particularly himself and Kuldeep Yadav, pointing to their track record of responding when games look difficult. He noted that the wicket-taking impact of DC’s unit was limited: “In DC’s bowling attack, they have Axar Patel, Kuldeep, Lungi, Mukesh, and Natarajan. But the first player to complete his 4-over quota was Nitish Rana—and that’s where they lost the… pic.twitter.com/U2NGNAloxr—AK 45 (@ImRo45_Club) April 21, 2026.” From there, Ashwin zeroed in on the wicket count and how the bowling plan appeared to unfold across the innings.
“Today, only two wickets fell. Axar Patel claimed one, and the other was a run-out involving Nitish Rana. Essentially, Delhi’s bowling unit took only one wicket all day. Axar managed that breakthrough while conceding only 21 or 22 runs,” Ashwin said, before contrasting it with how Kuldeep was handled. “Compare that to the handling of Kuldeep Yadav, who went for 30 runs in his first two overs. We saw a similar pattern previously where he was expensive early on but bounced back to take crucial wickets. Kuldeep is a match-winner. Even if he goes for 50 runs, you stick with him because he takes wickets. The same applies to Axar Patel. No matter how the game is going, you trust them—because, ultimately, that is their job,” he concluded.
