‘Not the right time to panic…’: Chawla encourages DC to ‘stay together’ after heavy loss to RCB

New Delhi: Veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has urged Delhi Capitals to stay composed and avoid panic despite their crushing defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where they were bowled out for just 75 at their home ground, the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The heavy loss on Monday came as a major setback for Delhi, especially after they had recently registered their highest total of the season. What followed, however, was a dramatic collapse that resulted in one of their lowest scores in IPL history, highlighting their inconsistency after a promising start to the campaign.

“There will be some panic around for sure, knowing the history of Delhi Capitals. But that’s not the right time (for it) now. They need to sit together, discuss about it, and they have to start fresh – because they started off pretty well in the tournament, and it’s not like in three weeks, the team has changed or the way of playing has changed,” Chawla told ESPNCricinfo.

Delhi began their IPL 2026 journey with back-to-back wins but have since struggled to maintain momentum, managing just one victory in their last six outings. Fielding lapses have compounded their problems, with crucial dropped chances proving costly. In a recent high-scoring clash, Karun Nair put down Shreyas Iyer twice, as Punjab Kings went on to complete a record-breaking chase, the highest successful run pursuit in men’s T20 cricket.

“Later, in the business end of the tournament, when they look back at it, those two points will definitely come to haunt them if they are not qualifying (for the playoffs). So right now is the time (when) they just have to forget everything and move on, start playing some positive cricket, and just make sure there’s a very positive environment in the dressing room because that plays a huge role.

“When things are not going your way, it’s very, very easy for any team to just scatter and just talk behind the back that this guy would have done this, this guy would have done that, he would have taken that single, this guy would have taken that catch,”Chawla stated.

Drawing parallels with the previous season, Chawla pointed out how inconsistency had similarly cost Delhi a playoff spot. Despite a strong phase where they strung together multiple wins, they faded in the latter half and ultimately finished fifth, narrowly missing qualification for the knockouts, a stage they last reached in 2021.

“The most difficult thing (for DC) is to just come together, sit together, and talk about it, and just say, ‘Okay, now that is gone’. These things are not in our control, and still we are in it. We are not out of the tournament, and we are the same team who has done well in the past, we have won four-five games on the trot last year as well and still we didn’t qualify. But this year we have to change the history, and just go out there, express yourself, and play with positive intent.

“That’s all you can say because it’s not about the skill level here right now because everyone is very skillful – that’s why they are playing here – it’s just about being positive and the leader needs to take that initiative, and make sure everyone is held together,”Chawla added.

With the league entering a crucial phase, Delhi Capitals will next travel to Jaipur to face Rajasthan Royals on May 1, a fixture that could prove pivotal in reviving their playoff hopes.