Akshar Patel Another disappointing outing with the bat as his struggling IPL 2026 season hit a new low during Delhi Capitals’ clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.The Delhi skipper now has the second-lowest batting average among players who have batted in at least seven innings by a captain in an IPL season. Axar has scored just 44 runs in 11 matches at an average of 6.28 this season, trailing only Shane Warne, who averaged 2.00 in IPL 2010.
Lowest average for a captain in an IPL season (7+ innings)2.00 Shane Warne (2010)6.28 Axar Patel (2026)*11.08 Eoin Morgan (2021)12.00 Harbhajan Singh (2012)12.75 R Ashwin (2018)Adding to the concern, Axar currently owns the lowest strike rate in IPL 2026 among batsmen who have faced at least 50 balls. His strike rate of 74.57 highlights the extent of his struggles in a season where aggressive batting has dominated the headlines.Poor numbers followed another disappointing evening for Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium as KKR’s spin attack stifled the hosts.With Patham Nissanka scoring a fifty and KL Rahul adding 23 at the top, Delhi’s middle order once again collapsed under the pressure.Key spin trio Sunil NarayanAnukul Roy and Varun Chakraborty completely controlled the middle overs, drying up the boundaries and forcing dangerous shots.Narine removed Sameer Rizvi soon after returning to the attack, while Roy delivered the decisive blows by dismissing Nissanka just after fifty. Tristan Stubbs In the same overDelhi lost four wickets in the middle overs as KKR tightened their grip through spin. Had it not been for Ashutosh Sharma’s late counter-attack of 39 off 28 balls, the hosts would have struggled to even cross the 100-run mark.Aksar’s poor form with the bat has now become the biggest worry for Delhi Capitals in an increasingly difficult IPL campaign.
