Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel conceded that his team has effectively been knocked out of the Indian Premier League 2026 season after their crushing loss against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 8. A visibly distraught Axar admitted after the match that Delhi would now begin testing their bench strength and start planning for next season.
The defeat against KKR marked Delhi’s fifth loss in their last six matches, leaving them with just 8 points from 11 games. Even if they win all their remaining matches, DC can only finish on 14 points – a tally unlikely to be enough to secure a playoff spot this season.
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Reflecting on the team’s disappointing campaign, Axar said Delhi needed to reassess their mistakes and begin looking ahead.
“We will think about our mistakes. We will start planning for next year. We can look at our bench and see who can step up for us,” Axar said after the match.
Delhi Capitals had begun the season brightly but have suffered a dramatic collapse midway through the Indian Premier League. What started as two unlucky games against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Arun Jaitley Stadium turned into a 4-match losing streak at home, forcing them to slip down to the 8th spot after 11 games.
CAN DC REACH PLAYOFFS?
Their 7th loss of the season means that DC have 8 points in 11 matches from the season. They will play 3 more, and get to the maximum of 14 points. Not only will DC have to win all their games against PBKS, RR and KKR, they will have to pray that Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals lose the rest of their games.
That will leave them with Gujarat, Chennai and KKR as the closest challengers. Now, with 2 spots remaining and GT, CSK and KKR having common matches, it is highly unlikely that one of them will not qualify for the play-offs this season.
SunRisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings are the top contenders to reach the play-offs this season. Behind the two teams, RCB, RR and GT are tied on 12 points at the moment. CSK and KKR are close followers, and need some results to go in their favour to make it to the top 4 this season.
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