Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper David Warner has come under the scanner for his timid approach in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

While the southpaw has slammed three half-centuries in four innings, his strike rate has been a cause of concern for the Capitals.

On Tuesday (April 11), Warner played another turtle-paced knock of 51 in 47 balls against Mumbai Indians as DC succumbed to their fourth successive defeat.

After the game, Warner’s deputy Akshar Patel, who slammed 25-ball 54 on the same pitch, denied that the left-handed opener has been given the role of “sheet anchor” and the coaches of Delhi Capitals have reminded the captain about his low strike rate.

“He has not been given the sheet anchor role. Ricky (Ponting), Dada (Sourav Ganguly), Pravin (Amre) sir, Watto (Shane Watson), everyone is having constant talks with Warner about his strike rate,” Akshar told reporters.

The DC vice-captain also sympathised with his skipper saying, “Wo try bhi kar raha hai but usse lag nahi raha (He is trying really hard but he is just not able to hit it properly)”.

Having lost all their four games, Delhi Capitals are currently placed at the bottom of the points table with a net run rate of -1.576.

Akshar Patel said frequent chopping and changes have also not helped Delhi.

“Changes in combination is not helping us,” he said, before revealing that he has been given the role of a finisher by the team management.

“Mujhe same hi lag raha, up batting karu ya neeche mai bhi 10-12 over khel hi raha hun (I am also playing 10-12 overs even if I am batting lower down the order, the situation for me is more or less the same),” he stated.

“If I will bat higher, then who will finish the game and what if I fall cheaply? This is a double edge sword, I think I am doing well at No 7 and my role is also to finish the game,” he added.

After Akshar Patel got out, Delhi Capitals managed only six runs and failed to bat their full quota. The southpaw took the blame on himself for not being able to bat through the innings.

“I was also at fault. There were ten more balls left. I could have been more careful and added a few more runs to our total. It was the first ball and I thought if I connected it, the bowler will come under pressure,” he explained.

“The rest of the batters, even if they managed to score singles of all the balls, the result would have been different. These losses hurt you the more,” he said.

(The Indian Express Inputs)