IPL 2025: Not Axar Patel or KL Rahul, Former RCB Star to Lead Delhi Capitals - Report

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Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Faf Du Plessis is reportedly set to pip Indian stars Axar Patel and KL Rahul to the vacant captaincy role at Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

DC is yet to announce their captain for the new season following the departure of Rishabh Pant, who was bought by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping Rs 27 Crore and also made the skipper by the Lucknow-based franchise.

While many believed either Axar and Rahul were front-runners for the post, recent report from CricBlogger suggests that the Delhi-based franchise is likely to announce Du Plessis as their captain.

"The announcement of Faf's name is going to happen very soon," CricBlogger quoted a source as saying with DC likely to make an announcement on the captaincy in the coming days.

The report added that the DC team management has decided to go ahead with the former South African captain as their leader after a series of deliberations. Among the three teams to never have won the IPL since debut in 2008, DC aims to end the quest with Du Plessis at the helm.

Earlier reports suggested, Rahul, one of the favourite to lead the team after arriving for Rs 14 crore, was the likely candidate to take the slot vacated by Pant, who went to the Karnataka star's former franchise LSG.

However, Rahul preferred to contribute to the team as a player, leaving the seat vacant for Axar, who has already led Delhi Capitals in Pant's absence to take over the role. A report from IANS also suggested Axar will be named captain, but appointing an experienced Du Plessis could be a sensible choice for this season.

While Axar has led DC before, the Indian all-rounder lacks the experience Du Plessis brings to the side, having led RCB to playoffs in two of his three seasons as captain of the Bengaluru-based side.

DC's opening match of IPL 2025 will be against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on March 24. The side is scheduled to have a short three-day training camp in New Delhi this week, before leaving for Visakhapatnam on March 17.