Delhi Capitals (DC) ended the fans' wait and appointed Axar Patel as their new captain. Axar seemed to be one of the frontrunners to take over DC's captaincy along with KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis. Rahul is the former captain of Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants. du Plessis captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Rahul was reportedly offered captaincy but he declined it. "Yes, Axar Patel is likely to be named as Delhi Capitals skipper for IPL 2025. The franchise had asked for KL Rahul to be the team's captain, but he very much wishes to contribute for the side as a player in the upcoming tournament," sources were quoted as saying by IANS.

Rahul, who seemingly rejected captaincy, was quick to react after Axar's appointment. "Congrats Bapu. Wishing you the best in this journey and always with you," Rahul wrote on Instagram while reacting to DC's captaincy announcement.

Axar has been with DC since 2019. He started his IPL career with Mumbai Indians but didn't get a chance in IPL 2013. He moved to Punjab Kings in 2014 and stayed with them till 2018. DC have been retaining Axar since 2019.

As for Rahul, he joined DC for Rs 14 crore in the IPL 2025 mega-auction. He was with LSG from IPL 2022 to 2024. Under him, LSG reached the second round in 2022 and 2023.

Rahul led PBKS in two seasons. The Punjab-based franchise crashed out of the league stage of both seasons. Rahul has also played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is yet to win an IPL title.

Axar will make his captaincy debut when DC take on LSG in their first game of the season on March 24. DC will play their first home game against Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitely Stadium on April 13.

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