KL Rahul to share the captaincy with Axar Patel at Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals have earned the reputation of being notorious at the auction table, where their bids raise the stakes higher for other franchises before they step back. While Delhi kept the tempo similarly afloat on Day 1 of the IPL 2025 mega auction, the franchise made impressive steals for themselves. In what turned out to be a swap, Delhi’s skipper until IPL 2024, Rishabh Pant, was bagged by LSG as Delhi Capitals snapped up KL Rahul. The deal, however, fared significantly more favorably for the Capitals. Rishabh Pant shattered previous records to become the highest-paid player in the history of the IPL as LSG put a whopping 27 crore on the table to snatch the wicket-keeper batter. For DC, on the other hand, KL Rahul levied a relatively lighter blow to the purse. The franchise managed to claim the former LSG captain for 14 crore. While DC tackled tussles from RCB and CSK, the bid didn’t chart up as much as it did for Pant and Shreyas Iyer.

DC owner confirms KL Rahul and Axar Patel as the captains for IPL 2025

The news of Delhi Capitals not retaining Rishabh Pant hogged the limelight at the time when the retentions were announced. However, irrespective of their fallout with Pant, DC retained Axar Patel in the squad. It was anticipated that the seasoned all-rounder would pick up the captaincy charge following Pant’s exit. However, when DC snapped up KL Rahul in the mega auction, a confusing haze appeared regarding Delhi’s captaincy prospects. KL Rahul captained Lucknow Super Giants from IPL 2022 to 2024 before the franchise let him go. Before that, Rahul had also captained PBKS. Thus, it came up as an obvious choice that Rahul’s portfolio was more suitable to lead Delhi’s charge.

However, Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal, on Monday, confirmed that both KL Rahul and Axar Patel will share the team captaincy load. Jindal, in the statement, explained that Rahul’s addition to the Delhi lineup would stabilize the batting order. The DC owner noted Rahul’s impressive run in the league, highlighting the wicket-keeper batter’s consistent exploits of notching up over 400 runs in the seasons. Moreover, he highlighted that Rahul would suit the Kotla turf.

“We were looking for stability in the top order, someone with experience who can build the innings. And, I think KL Rahul, given his record in the IPL, he's someone who's consistently given more than 400 runs every season. I think with the Kotla wicket, it is going to suit his game. We're very excited to have him,” Parth Jindal said after the auction.

Furthermore, in the official statement following the IPL 2025 mega auction, Jindal emphasized that both Rahul and Patel would play a pivotal role in mentoring the younger members of the squad and would be entrusted with leading the team next year.

“We have a very young batting lineup. Both KL and Axar are going to lead them and are going to guide them. KL's batting and experience will be a vital cog in the wheel,” he further explained.

In addition to bagging KL Rahul for 14 crore, Delhi Capitals picked up some more enviable deals on Day 1 of the IPL 2025 mega auction. After retaining Axar Patel (16.50 crore), Kuldeep Yadav (13.25 crore), Tristan Stubbs (10 crore), and Abhishek Porel (4 crore), DC entered the mega auction with a 73 crore purse. Sitting at the auction table, DC snapped up the highest-paid player of last season, Mitchell Starc, for 11.75 crore. The team bought seven more players at the auction, including English batter Harry Brook for 6.25 crore. Moreover, they reclaimed Australian batter Jake Fraser McGurk for 9 crore. Other DC buys included Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Mohit Sharma, T Natarajan, and Sameer Rizvi.