MI vs DC, IPL 2025: Why Faf du Plessis Is Leading Delhi Capitals Against Mumbai Indians Not Axar Patel?

Delhi Capitals need to win against Mumbai Indians tonight to stay alive in the tournament. However, their regular skipper Axar Patel is not playing the must-win IPL 2025 game.

Delhi Capitals suffered a major blow for their must-win game against Mumbai Indians as their skipper Axar Patel is not playing in the Match No. 63 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday, May 21. 

In absence of Axar, Delhi Capitals stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl against Mumbai Indians.

Speaking at the toss, the veteran South African batter mentioned that Axar is missing the game due to illness. 

"He has been really sick in the last two days. We'll miss him today. Axar is two players and it's difficult to replace him. We'll see how it goes," Du Plessis said after winning the toss.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians brought in Mitchel Santner in place of Corbin Bosch.

Notably, Delhi Capitals need to win against Mumbai Indians tonight to stay alive in the tournament. They currently have 13 points from 12 matches and are placed at the fifth spot in the points table.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians have 14 points from 12 games and they can seal the IPL 2025 playoff spot with a win against Delhi Capitals. 

Playing XIs For MI vs DC IPL 2025 Match 

Delhi Capitals: Faf du Plessis(c), Abishek Porel(w), Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Kumar

Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah

Impact Substitutes For MI vs DC IPL 2025 Match 

Delhi Capitals Impact Subs: KL Rahul, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Tripurana Vijay, Manvanth Kumar L

Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Karn Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju