Delhi Capitals have confirmed that Axar Patel will lead them in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and replace Rishabh Pant in the top job. Pant was DC's captain since the 2021 season (apart from 2023) but decided to not be retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction.

DC did try to buy Pant after matching Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) bid of Rs. 21 crore. However, they decided to not match their revised offer of Rs. 27 crore, which left them searching for a new captain. While KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis joined the franchise after leading LSG and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2023 season, DC decided to give the top job to Axar, who has been part of the franchise since 2020.

The 2025 season will mark the first time in history that Axar will lead an IPL franchise on a permanent basis. He previously made his captaincy debut in the 2024 season in DC's fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as Pant was banned for the fixture due to a slow over rate offense.

Axar was introduced in the leadership group in the 2023 season when Pant was out of action following injuries suffered in a near-fatal road accident. While David Warner led the franchise, Axar was named the vice-captain. While Pant returned to lead the team in 2024, Axar continued to be his deputy.

Axar joined DC in a trade deal from Punjab Kings ahead of the 2019 season and the move has proved instrumental in his career transformation. The star all-rounder has played 82 matches for the Capitals in which he has made 967 runs at a strike-rate of 134.11 with three half-centuries. The 31-year-old is the franchise's third-highest wicket-taker in history with 62 scalps.

The elevation to DC's captaincy marks another high for Axar after he played a key role in India's 2024 T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy triumph.

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