In a surprising twist ahead of a pivotal Indian Premier League (IPL) clash, Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel was left out of the playing 11 for their high-stakes encounter against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday at the Wankhede Stadium. With the last playoff berth on the line, the match is a virtual knockout for both sides, making every decision critical.
Replacing Axar as the skipper, was Faf du Plessis who gave the update on the night as Axar Patel has been ruled out fue to illness with the all-rounder not well since the last two days.
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Faf du Plessis after the toss: (On Axar) Unfortunate for him, really sick in the last two days, down with flu, so we wish him all the best. He's been excellent for us this season, and we'll definitely miss him today. What an opportunity! If you ask any team, the last game of the season, you have a crack to get to the top four, you'll smile and you'll grab that opportunity with both hands. Playing a good team today, we are ready for it. We haven't been at our best in the last 5-6 games. Everyday there's a new opportunity,. Looks a bit different to a normal Wankhede wicket, a bit dry, so we're sticking with the tone of the campaign and chasing. Axar is not there, Axar is two players - fantastic spinner and a great batter, so it's difficult to replace that. We don't have a like-for-like. We'll see how it goes.
Playing 11s for MI vs DC:
Delhi Capitals: Faf du Plessis (captain), Abishek Porel (wicketkeeper), Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Tristan Stubbs, Dushmantha Chameera, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (captain), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
This fixture holds immense significance as both franchises battle for a crucial victory that could decide their playoff destiny.