Faf du Plessis walked out for the toss instead of Axar Patel in Delhi Capitals' must-win game against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, leaving fans scratching their heads. A few minutes later, du Plessis himself ended the suspense by revealing the reasons behind Axar Patel's absence. Du Plessis said Axar was suffering from a bad flu.
"He has been really ill for the last two days, down with flu. We'll miss him today," du Plessis said after winning the toss and opting to field first in the match against MI that could virtually seal the last remaining place in the IPL playoffs.
When asked about the composition of the side, du Plesis said there was no like-for-like replacement for "a great bowler and brilliant batter like Axar". "Axar is not there, Axar is two players and it's difficult to replace him. We'll see how it goes," du Plessis.
MI vs DC Live Score
Young Madhav Tiwari, who is a fast-bowling all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh, was brought into the side in place of Axar.
The former South Africa captain said DC have not been at their best in the last few games but they would like to make a solid case for the playoffs by beating MI on Wednesday. "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," he said.
{{/usCountry}}The former South Africa captain said DC have not been at their best in the last few games but they would like to make a solid case for the playoffs by beating MI on Wednesday. "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," he said.
{{/usCountry}}While du Plessis is a vastly experienced captain both at the international level and the IPL, DC will surely miss Axar's all-round abilities in the field in a match where weather can also play a decisive factor.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis(c), Abishek Porel(w), Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar
Delhi Capitals Impact Subs: KL Rahul, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Tripurana Vijay, Manvanth Kumar
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Karn Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju