With just a week left to go for the start of IPL 2025, Delhi Capitals face an opener conundrum. While KL Rahul is most likely to open the innings for the team, there is a three-way battle to determine who will be his opening partner. DC have ample number of openers in their squads including Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis and Abhishek Porel.
Triple-threat battle to decide Rahul’s opening partner
DC’s go-to option will undoubtedly be Jake Fraser-McGurk. The young Australian had an impressive debut season in 2024, hammering 330 runs in 9 matches, including four half-centuries. With a strike rate of 234.04, he is the perfect partner for Rahul at the top of the order. While KL can go about his innings in a calm and composed manner, JFM can accelrate at will, providing DC with the fiery start in the powerplay.
However, his recent form has been a worry. Apart from a string of poor scores for Australia in ODIs, he only managed to score 188 runs in the recent edition of the Big Bash League.
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DC’s next option is former RCB captain Faf du Plessis. The seasoned veteran is no stranger to the role of an opener, having done so for so many years in CSK and RCB. His recent form has been impressive, with the batter going on to amass 286 runs from 11 games in SA20 2025. With 4571 runs from 145 IPL matches, the ex-South African skipper is easily the best option for DC as Rahul’s partner. Besides, the team managed to accquire the services of du Plessis for a steal deal of just Rs 2 cr.
The third option for DC is keeper-batter Abhishek Porel. Although he was used as an impact player on many occasions in 2024, he has fulfilled the role of an opener multiple times in the past for the franchise. He was retianed by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. In 18 IPL games, he has ammassed 360 runs. Out of that, 327 runs came from 14 matches in IPL 2024. While Porel is surely a good choice to be Rahul’s partner, it is highly unlikely that he will be picked ahead of McGurk or du Plessis.
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