Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch slammed Delhi Capitals after the franchise failed to make it to the playoffs in the ongoing IPL 2026. DC ended their campaign on a high, registering a 40-run win against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.

But Finch said DC looked confused throughout their campaign. The T20 World Cup winning captain pointed out that DC batted Sameer Rizvi out of his position and also questioned captain Axar Patel for underbowling himself.

Rizvi scored two match-winning knocks in the first two games while batting at number four but he was then promoted to one drop and was eventually dropped after a few inconsistent performances.

“Confusion, right from the start. Sameer Rizvi batted No. 4 to start the tournament and had two match-winning knocks. After that, you would lock him at No. 4, but instead of doing that, they pushed him up to No. 3. They batted him out of position and then, before he knows, he is out of the team. That’s a team that is so confused with how they want to go about things,” Finch said on Star Sports.

“It was just inconsistency throughout. There were times when Axar Patel needed to bowl himself. The lead Indian spinner and a World Cup winner needs to take the ball and lead by example, and he didn’t do it. There were times when I just thought that tactically, they were quite off as well,” he added.

On the other hand, Finch also shed light on KKR’s disappointing show after three-time champions could not make it to the last four. KKR suffered five losses in their first six games of the tournament, with one ending in a no-result.

“It would say it’s disappointing. Yes, they got close towards the end, but it was still very disappointing. You can’t afford to give the competition, which is so strong and so tight, a six-game head start. It’s just impossible to catch up. At the end of the day, you would say they were close, but you let that slip way too early in the season,” he responded.

The former Australian opener said KKR would be kicking themselves now for their disastrous start to the tournament.

“You can’t catch up in T20 cricket. KKR will be kicking themselves now, saying how and why did we start so poorly, because what we have shown in the back part of the season shows that we have got the squad, the ability, and the talent to be able to compete for that playoff spot,” Finch observed.

KKR and DC would aim to bounce back strongly in the next season.