Delhi Capitals (DC) once again failed to end their IPL trophy drought after another disappointing campaign in 2026. Despite the impressive start of the IPL 2026, the Delhi Capitals collapsed in crucial moments and missed out on the playoffs for the fifth straight year.
The DC team, led by Axar Patel, finished sixth on the points table with seven wins and seven defeats from 14 matches. They lost several matches this season after being in winning positions, and those costly mistakes eventually shattered their playoff hopes.
Hemang Badani admits Delhi Capitals failed in pressure moments in IPL 2026
After their 40-run over KKR in their last IPL 2026 match, Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani openly admitted that the team failed to stay consistent throughout the tournament. He accepted that DC had enough chances to qualify but could not handle pressure situations properly.
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One of Delhi Capitals‘ biggest heartbreaks came against the Gujarat Titans when they lost by just one run at home in a thriller. Another shocking defeat came against the Punjab Kings after Delhi failed to defend a massive total of 264 runs at their home, Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Badani further noted that the poor fielding also hurt the team badly this season. Delhi dropped crucial catches in important games against Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and those mistakes proved extremely costly later in the matches.
Hemang Badani said at the post-match press conference in Kolkata: “There were many games that I genuinely felt that could go either way. And we did not seize those moments.”
Batting collapses, and weak bowling hurt DC badly
Badani admitted that Delhi repeatedly failed to grab key moments when matches were evenly balanced. According to him, the team had several opportunities to turn games around but failed to take control at the right time.
Delhi Capitals’ batting also struggled badly with consistency. The middle order collapsed under pressure, and wickets kept falling in clusters during important matches. This made it difficult for the team to build momentum regularly throughout the tournament.
The bowling attack also left the Capitals frustrated. DC bowlers managed only 64 wickets in 14 matches, which was among the lowest wicket tallies in the entire IPL 2026 season.
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Badani further explained, “Even with us batting, we did not many a times hold on to our wickets. We have lost too many in clusters, if you go back and see the stats. And as a bowling side, you ideally want to pick a lot of wickets. If you see the stats with sides picking wickets, I think we are right at the bottom. I think a culmination of all of it is the reason why we are at 14 points and we could have been a lot better than that.”
Hemang Badani refuses to blame Mitchell Starc’s absence
Well, the DC head coach refused to use Mitchell Starc’s absence at the early phase of the tournament as the main excuse for the failed campaign. He believes Delhi had enough quality in the squad to qualify for the playoffs even without the Australian pacer.
Badani signed off by saying, “I genuinely feel that if we had played those small, small, little, little margins and if we had seized those little margins, we would have still been alive in the tournament.”
