Delhi Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson praised Axar Patel’s development as a match-winner with the bat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Axar had a great time in the Test series against Australia that preceded the IPL and continued in that vein in the IPL 2023. Delhi Capitals may have lost five of their six games this season, but their assistant coach Watson said Patel has shown his class with scores of 16, 36, 2, 54, 21, and 19*.
Axar began the IPL season with a bang, smashing a maiden half-century against the Mumbai Indians, and has accumulated 148 runs in six matches, striking at 148.00 and averaging 29.60. Axar the batter held his nerves to help his team cross the line in Delhi Capitals’ first win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
“The first few years of Axar, we were used to seeing him as a very skilled bowler but his batting was a little restricted. But now he’s a world-class power hitter and a world-class batsman. We saw that in the Test matches against Australia and now to see what he’s done in IPL is very special. It shows his dedication to his skill. And he’s doing it against the best bowlers in the world, not part-time bowlers,” Watson said ahead of their match against SRH.
Watson also pointed out that Ishant Sharma is not done yet. Notably, Ishant made a memorable comeback in the IPL 2023 and made his presence felt in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with a fantastic two-wicket haul.
“I enjoyed my rivalry playing against Ishant Sharma. Now to work with him as a coaching staff is incredible. He certainly will play a big part in our team, especially in the powerplay. There’s still a lot of T20 cricket left in Ishant Sharma.”
