When KL Rahul and Lucknow Super Giants amicably parted ways, you’d have expected that the wicketkeeper would play a major leadership role wherever he went. Only a couple of teams needed a big name like him, those being Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Delhi Capitals (DC). In the end, one of these franchises did pick him at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction.
With Rishabh Pant gone, you’d expect that KL Rahul would be perfect to captain the Delhi Capitals. But it seems the DC management might hand over the leadership to their top retention, Axar Patel. Recent reports suggest that the all-rounder is all but expected to become the skipper for the IPL 2025 season.
Axar Patel made India’s T20I vice-captain
As it turns out, Dinesh Karthik also confirmed this. Asked about the change the India cricket team made in their leadership setup, with Hardik Pandya being removed as the vice-captain and Axar Patel becoming Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy in T20Is, Karthik mistakenly let the cat out of the bag.
“I really don’t know. I don’t know why he (Hardik Pandya) was stripped of his vice-captaincy. I don’t see any reason to. They have done well. They have won in the bilaterals that he was the vice-captain. Not a clue,” Dinesh Karthik said on HeyCB.
Latest in Cricket
- How many ICC events Jasprit Bumrah has missed over the years?
- From Jasprit Bumrah to Pat Cummins: List of players ruled out of Champions Trophy 2025
- Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of Champions Trophy, Jaiswal replaced with Varun Chakaravarthy in India’s squad
Not KL Rahul, Axar Patel to be made Delhi Capitals captain?
Nonchalantly, the former RCB wicketkeeper stated that Axar Patel would captain DC in the coming season. Given questions over KL Rahul‘s intent for the last couple of years, it might just be the DC, who recently switched their management, might trust Axar more than Rahul.
“But for Axar Patel, all the very best. A good opportunity for him. Third, he is going to be the Delhi Capitals’ captain as well. So here is a good opportunity for him to lead and show the way. He has been doing that for Gujarat as well. So, wish him all the luck,“ he added.
