Australia 2021 T20 World Cup winning captain Aaron Finch has slammed Delhi Capitals’ (DC) captain Axar Patel for not bowling himself out and Kuldeep Yadav, and instead showing a defensive mindset by giving Nitish Rana four overs, as there were left-handers at the crease.

Delhi Capitals suffered a 47-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad on Tuesday, April 21, thanks to a scintillating 135* by Abhishek Sharma, laden with 10 fours and 10 sixes. He helped SRH post 242/2 in 20 overs.

In response, DC was restricted to 195/9, with Sameer Rizvi (41), Nitish Rana (57), and KL Rahul (37) being the main scorers. The DC batters never got going in the chase and couldn’t build enough momentum.

Aaron Finch put the spotlight on Axar Patel, not bowling out himself or Kuldeep Yadav, and giving four overs to a part-timer like Nitish Rana.

“We've been sitting there scratching our heads, haven't we? Your two Indian premier spin bowlers, Axar Patel, the skipper [2-0-23-1], and Kuldeep Yadav [2-0-30-0], bowled four overs between them. A part-time offspinner in Nitish Rana has wheeled out four overs. To me, that makes no sense,” Finch said while speaking on ESPNCricinfo.

Finch further reminded that Kuldeep Yadav is a double T20 World Cup champion bowler, and so is Axar Patel, but he didn’t trust either to bowl under pressure once the left-handed batters came to the crease.

"It's the responsibility of your captain, your senior player, your retained player, your best bowler, an Indian bowler, he's one of your core bowlers in the Indian cricket team. That's no small bit. He's a double World Cup winner. So, the fact that he doesn't trust himself to execute under pressure and to defend himself against any left-handers, as soon as a left-hander walks to the crease, not for me today, thanks. To me, that says more about his attitude towards it than anything else,” he added.

With three wins from six matches, DC are placed fifth on the IPL 2026 points table. They lost their last two games from a winning position as David Miller fumbled against the Gujarat Titans, and then in the recent most clash, KL Rahul missed a chance to run Abhishek out.

Aaron Finch also feels the problem lies with Axar Patel’s captaincy and his defensive mindset with the ball as well.

"He's got a great defensive mindset with the ball in hand, too. He's not somebody that you know. If he's under pressure, he'll float one up in the slot. He defends himself. He changes angles. He uses his range and his height to his advantage as well. So even when you're thinking defensively, that's attacking against Abhishek Sharma when he's in a mood like that. You bowl a couple of decent balls, and you know that something will happen," added Finch.

"I'm looking at those comments saying, well, hang on, boss, you had the chance as well, but you're not willing to stand up at the moment either. So I'm no issue with mis-execution. A bowler can mis-execute for a game or for a couple of games. If their planning and their preparation and their thought process are right, I've no issues whatsoever with that. Because inevitably, you can't bowl 24 perfect balls. You can't get your decision-making right all the time," the Australian concluded.

DC will take on Punjab Kings at home in a day game on Saturday, April 25.