3 players in line to become Delhi Capitals' new captain ahead of IPL 2025, 2 of them are India's Champions Trophy-bound stars

Delhi Capitals (DC) haven't officially named their captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However there are three players who are the front-runners to become Delhi Capitals' new captain ahead of IPL 2025. Rishabh Pant captained the team in previous seasons, but his move to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2025 mega auction leaves the captaincy vacant. Axar Patel, as one of the four players retained by the Delhi Capitals management, is a strong contender for the position.

Who will become Delhi Capitals' new captain?

KL Rahul is another strong contender for the DC captaincy, boasting an impressive IPL record with an average of 45.46 and a strike rate of 134.6. Over 132 games, he has accumulated 4,683 runs. Upon joining the team, Rahul expressed his desire to win the IPL title for both himself and the Delhi Capitals franchise. His captaincy experience is a significant asset, having led the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023.

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DC showed their faith in Axar Patel by retaining him for a whopping Rs 16.50 crore prior to the mega auction. They then added to their squad by acquiring KL Rahul for Rs 14 crore and Faf du Plessis for Rs 2 crore during the auction held in Jeddah. Axar Patel justified the team's confidence with a strong performance in IPL 2024, taking 11 wickets at an economical rate of 7.65 and contributing 235 runs at a healthy strike rate of 131.28 in his 12 innings.

Meanwhile, former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Faf Du Plessis is another player who is in the mix to become DC's next skipper.

Faf du Plessis, a former South African batter, has a notable IPL record, having scored 4,571 runs in 145 matches at an average of 35.99 and a strike rate of 136.4. He also captained Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the past three seasons, leading the team to the playoffs twice.

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While du Plessis' extensive experience makes him a potential candidate for the Delhi Capitals captaincy, the franchise may be hesitant to invest in him due to his age. At 40, he is nearing the end of his career, which could be a factor in Delhi's decision-making process.

Delhi Capitals' full squad for IPL 2025:

DC IPL 2025 Squad: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Mitchell Starc (Rs. 11.75 crore), KL Rahul (Rs. 14 crore), Harry Brook (Rs. 6.25 crore), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Rs. 9 crore), T. Natarajan (Rs. 10.75 crore), Karun Nair (Rs. 50 lakh), Sameer Rizvi (Rs. 95 lakh), Ashutosh Sharma (Rs. 3.80 crore), Mohit Sharma (Rs. 2.20 crore), Faf du Plessis (Rs. 2 crore), Mukesh Kumar (Rs. 8 crore), Darshan Nalkande (Rs. 30 lakh), Vipraj Nigam (Rs. 50 lakh), Dushmantha Chameera (Rs. 75 lakh), Donovan Ferreira (Rs. 75 lakh), Ajay Mandal (Rs. 30 lakh), Manvanth Kumar (Rs. 30 lakh), Tripurana Vijay (Rs. 30 lakh), Madhav Tiwari (Rs. 40 lakh).