A marquee figure in the Delhi Capitals franchise, Axar Patel will be donning the vice-captaincy hat in the upcoming season and the all-rounder is all excited about his new role in the team. With regular skipper Rishabht Pant out for the entire season, Australian David Warner was announced the captain of the side and Axar was assigned as his deputy.
The 29-year-old, who has been exceptional in the shortest format in the last couple of years said that responsibility entrusted upon him is the reward for all the hard work he has put over last few seasons.
“In my opinion, if you have gotten this role that means you are growing as a senior player. It’s like getting a reward for all that you’ve done for the team. I’m excited about this role,” the lanky all-rounder said in a video posted on DC’s twitter handle.
“Our team is mostly the same, we have the same players from the last 3-4 years. We know our players well and that will be an important point.”
Axar said that he would provide full support to new skipper Warner.
“David is a talented player. I will provide him with an atmosphere where he can make best use of his abilities. It’s a different feeling altogether when you join DC Camp. It’s been 3-4 years with the franchise now and it feels like home,” Axar said.
DC will start their campaign with an away game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 before returning to their home base to play defending champions Gujarat Titans on April 4.
“We are playing here at Kotla after so long. I feel it will be really important. We will have our fans here and I’m sure the fans would be excited to cheer for us,” Axar said.
“David is a talented player. I will provide him with an atmosphere where he can make best use of his abilities. It’s a different feeling altogether when you join DC Camp. It’s been 3-4 years with the franchise now and it feels like home,” Axar said.
DC will start their campaign with an away game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 before returning to their home base to play defending champions Gujarat Titans on April 4. “We are playing here at Kotla after so long. I feel it will be really important. We will have our fans here and I’m sure the fans would be excited to cheer for us,” Axar said.
Delhi Capitals new captain
The team owners and board of Delhi Capitals have appointed David Warner as the team’s captain for IPL 2023 season. Axar Patel has been appointed as his deputy. Rishabh Pant was due to lead DC this year, however, the Indian skipper met with a deadly car accident last December, due to which he has been ruled out of the IPL 2023 as well as ODI World Cup 2023.
Delhi Capitals (DC) full squad for IPL 2023
David Warner, Manish Pandey, Prithvi Shaw, Rilee Rossouw, Ripal Patel, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Yash Dhull, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Ishant Sharma, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Aman Khan, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Philip Salt
Delhi Capitals starting five match schedule
- Match 1: April 1 – Delhi Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giants, Lucknow (7:30PM IST)
- Match 2: April 4 – Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans, Delhi (7:30PM IST)
- Match 3: April 8 – Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals, Guwahati (3:30PM IST)
- Match 4: April 11 – Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians, Delhi (7:30PM IST)
- Match 5: April 15 – Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bengaluru (3:30PM IST)