"He doesn't speak English" - Indian star's stunning claim on perceptions around his captaincy ahead of IND vs SA 2025 1st Test

Team India all-rounder Axar Patel revealed how his English speaking ability was raised and questioned when he took over as Delhi Capitals' (DC) captain ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The experienced player guided the franchise to the fifth spot in the campaign, and had recorded a memorable start as leader, winning each of his first five matches.

Axar Patel was in DC's leadership group during the previous cycle, and had even stepped in for a suspended Rishabh Pant during an IPL 2024 league stage clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Following the shake-up after the mega auction, the all-rounder pipped the likes of experienced captains like KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis to take over the reins.

Axar Patel outlined how important it is for the perception to change since there is much more to captaincy than just speaking English.

“People start saying ‘oh he is not a captaincy material, he doesn’t speak English. How will he talk? Yeh hai, voh hai’ (This and that). Arre! Captain’s work is not to just talk. Captain’s work is to know the player and see how to get the best out of him. What’s his strength, what’s his weakness. Captain knows that I have this player and what I need to do to get work out of him (“kaisey kaam nikalwaana hai”). And in game situations, who to give the ball now," Axar Patel told the Indian Express.

“But yeah if we say ‘personality’ chahiye, acha English bolna chahiye – that’s a perception made by the public based on their own thinking. I captained Delhi Capitals this year and got a lot of praise. I think more of this happens, more will change in the coming time. It’s important that people have to change their personal thinking. Stop thinking ‘oh his personality is good, he can speak English – so he is captain material’. One thing about captaincy is there should be no language barrier," he added.

Prior to the IPL 2025 campaign, Axar Patel had also led Gujarat in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where they finished third in the group, narrowly missing out on the knockout stage due to an inferior net run rate.

He was also named as Team India's T20I vice-captain during the home series against England in early 2025, but his stint as deputy ended after Shubman Gill's return to the squad.

“It’s all about what you see and what the media is showing" - Axar Patel on how an image helps a player's case in India

The all-rounder cited social media as an important factor behind people's perception of a particular player. With the majority of players being quite active on social media, coupled with agencies trying to build an image, it all becomes a massive avenue to make or break.

“It’s all about what you see and what the media is showing. How active you are on social media. How you talk. People judge you on all that. Everyone likes to give opinions these days. He is capable, he is not capable, take him, don’t take him, make him captain etc,” Axar Patel said.

The star player recently clinched the player of the match award for India in the fourth T20I against Australia in Gold Coast, for his all-round exploits. He is part of the Test squad for the upcoming Test series against South Africa, scheduled to begin on Friday, November 14, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.