Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav's ill-fated form has coincided with Delhi's indifferent IPL 2026 season. (CREIMAS) “Eighteen years, obviously, it hurts.” ​ Delhi Capitals director of cricket Venugopala Rao has endured a lean run with the franchise as a player a decade ago. It was the Daredevils back then, when Rao was part of a squad that bagged the wooden spoon twice between 2011 and 2013. ​A stinging eight-wicket loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, a fifth in succession at home, put the Capitals all but out of Playoffs contention, extending the wait for the elusive title by another season. ​“I think today also, when we got a good start, we couldn’t capitalise. In this kind of tournament, you can’t miss those patches. Eighteen years, obviously, it hurts. Seriously, when you look back, when I played during my days, I always wanted to win from the Daredevils’ time to now. It’s a learning process for me.…