Delhi Capitals have to put their best foot forward to give themselves a chance to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs. DC’s bowling coach Munaf Patel said the “relaxed mode is over” for the players and they have to take the winning momentum forward.
DC and Chennai Super Kings clash on Tuesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with both teams on eight points. However, DC are at the seventh spot because of their net run-rate being in the negative. It would be a crucial match for the Delhi franchise as they would take confidence from their successful run chase of 226 runs against Rajasthan Royals.
“You don’t have any other option but to win the match. Obviously, we play every match to win, but now the relaxed mode is over. If you want to qualify, you have to win all the matches. We have won and we have forgotten that. If we keep remembering that, we will lose again. It is better that we forget that and move forward with the momentum of the winning match,” said Munaf in the pre-match press conference.
Delhi need to put together a run of consistent performances if they want to move up the points table. But their campaign has suffered because they have managed just one win at home this season. With the tournament reaching the business end and pitches likely to slow down, Munaf said he has complete faith in his two spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and captain Axar Patel, to make the most of these conditions.
“Our job is to motivate them. We tell them about their mistakes and make them improve. Once you are on the ground, my and Hemang’s (Badani) say is over as once you are on the field, the players have to do it all. You can motivate them as much as you want.
“But until they are motivated, or they can’t bowl on their strength, or deliver as per the batter’s weakness, you can’t do anything. Confidence always comes from winning. I always believe that you can’t give confidence by losing. You are talking about slow wickets – the spinners who play in the T20 World Cup, Kuldeep and Axar, they are there anyway.
“There is no question that they won’t play because we have one of the best spin bowling units. We don’t have a reason to complain about slow wickets. If the wickets are slow, it is better for us because we have top spinners and it will benefit us.”
At the same time, Munaf also suggested that the pitches that are still favouring the batters, may not slow down significantly.
“If it slows down, it’s very good for us. I said earlier that our spinners are one of the best in the tournament. But I feel that the wickets won’t be as slow as we think and they used to be before because you get time.
“If you get 5 days and go somewhere else to play, it’s fine. If you get a 4-day break, then 4-5 days is enough to make a wicket unless and until the weather changes – if it rains, the wicket is covered, then it can slow down. Otherwise, I don’t think that the wickets will be as slow as we think they will be.
“They won’t be that slow – I mean, they can be 20 percent, but not 50 percent. It can be absolutely because the wickets are not as slow as we think they will be. But it’s not happening as you see, we just played a match in Rajasthan and we chased 226. So I believe that there will be 200 runs made in games by batters,” he said.
Talking about tactics, Munaf brushed aside the idea that bowlers should just copy what is working for others like Krunal Pandya mixing in bouncers or bowling unpredictably, or CSK pacer Anshul Kamboj finding success by going round the wicket, especially in the death overs.
“See, everyone has their own bowling style. If Krunal is doing it and you try to make it happen from Axar, he can’t do it because he didn’t do it. So, you can’t go out of the box. Every bowler has his own strength. He will do what he does every day. More than that, you can add a ball.
“For example, you can add a slower ball, you can add a knuckle ball, you can add a bouncer. You can add them. But it’s not like you have to go out of the box and do the same thing that if one is successful, everyone will be successful. It’s not like that and this is what I think.”
