India, May 21 -- Faf du Plessis walked out for the toss instead of Axar Patel in Delhi Capitals' must-win game against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, leaving fans scratching their heads. A few minutes later, du Plessis himself ended the suspense by revealing the reasons behind Axar Patel's absence. Du Plessis said Axar was suffering from a bad flu.

"He has been really ill for the last two days, down with flu. We'll miss him today," du Plessis said after winning the toss and opting to field first in the match against MI that could virtually seal the last remaining place in the IPL playoffs.

When asked about the composition of the side, du Plesis said there was no like-for-like replacement for "a great bowler and brilli...