Axar Patel dropped catch fact check: Did he deliberately drop a catch in PBKS vs DC match?

Axar Patel finally came back to form with the bat as his half-century helped Delhi Capitals (DC) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday to keep their play-offs hopes alive in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL).

The DC captain did not bowl a single over but, with the bat in hand, he scored a crucial 56 from only 30 deliveries. His innings helped his team recover from early wickets and chase down a 211-run target with an over left.

While his performance was appreciated by fans and experts, he is also facing some criticism on social media. A video of him knowingly dropping a catch is now going viral.

Axar's deliberate drop

A user on social media posted a clip from the PBKS vs DC match, showing Axar not going for a catch despite the ball falling very close to him.

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"No way Axar Patel didn’t even try to catch such an easy catch. Something about the IPL genuinely feels scripted nowadays," the account stated in the post.

Some users in the comment also agreed and sensed that something might be wrong with Axar not even trying for an easy catch.

Did Axar really intentionally drop a catch?

No, he did not. Axar's video has been shared without context which, on first look, suggests that he deliberately did not try to take the catch. However, the reality is that the ball was a free hit. Even if Axar had caught the ball, it would have been a double.

The video is from the second over of the match when Priyansh Arya was facing Auqib Nabi. On the second ball of the over, Nabi overstepped. The next ball was a free hit, which Arya mishit towards Axar at mid-off.

Since it was a free hit, Axar did not put any extra effort to catch the ball.

So, the video is being shared without the much-needed context and nothing is fishy about it.