Home
Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Matthew Mott said that injured veteran batter Du Plessis' availability for the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is dependent on his fitness assessment during the nets. Faf has missed DC's last Indian Premuier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) due to with an unspecified injury which later Mott said could be a groin niggle.
DC are currently in Bengaluru to face RCB for their fourth clash of the ongoing cash-rich league. Axar Patel's side are currently unbeaten, having won all three of their matches in the IPL 2025.
“The beauty of the schedule so far is that he's now had a good break. He'll get assessed by the physios with a view to playing. He certainly looks like he's moving around a lot better from the naked eye,” said Mott on Faf injury ahead of RCB clash
Mott also lavished praise on KL Rahul who for showing the flexibility to bat anywhere in the order. KL Rahul was featured as an opener in the absence of Du Plessis in DC's last IPL outing against CSK.
“I thought KL in the last game was amazing to come in at short notice and play an innings like that to really set us up for the win. We've got a number of guys who can go in and open.
“I think what separates KL from a lot of people in the group is his ability to bat anywhere. He's a class player,” he said.
Hinting that Rahul will have a continued presence in the DC top order, Mott said the hit-or-miss style of other opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, demands an experienced batter at the other end.
“The role that Jake plays in every side he's in, it's high risk, but when he has his days out, it's what is the goal. But he's got full autonomy from all of our leadership.
"He's going to be a player who busts matches open. We're prepared with the depth that we've got to play like that,” he explained.
Mott also believes that Axar Patel's captaincy style puts the players at ease instantly and has also played a massive role in Delhi Capitals' blazing start to this IPL season.
"He's just got a great balance on cricket and life. He'll just summarise the group and make sure the players are included. They've got a smile on their face. He doesn't come across as being the only voice (in the team)," Mott said.
Mott said Axar uses the experience of other senior players in the squad like KL Rahul and Faf Du Plessis, a former Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper, to good effect.
“He's not taking it all on himself. He leverages a lot of the other senior players in the group. We mentioned KL, Faf as well. He's got a lot of experience to draw on, particularly Faf. We had a productive meeting around that,” he said.
Mott also rated Axar as a level-headed person who realises the “fickle” nature of cricket.
“He's played enough cricket to know that it can be a pretty fickle game at times. You're well aware that when you're winning, it's all rosy.
“I like to think that he's got that character where if we do have a bad day, he'll be just as positive,” Mott added.
DC and RCB have played 31 matches against each other where RCB managed to win 19 matches and DC won 11. One match between DC and RCB ended without a result.
ADVERTISEMENT
