The internet has been buzzing with the news of Axar Patel, who is likely to be sacked as the captain of the Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the IPL 2026 season. Although the franchise has shown signs of retaining the spin bowling all-rounder, the possibility of him continuing as the DC skipper appears slim.

In such a scenario, the Delhi-based outfit may be compelled to explore alternative captaincy options in the form of Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul, and Tristan Stubbs. In this article, we will look at the top three captaincy candidates who are likely to fill Axar's shoes ahead of the next IPL season. 

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Faf du Plessis

The veteran Proteas batter has a wealth of experience in competing in various franchise leagues around the world. In addition, the 41-year-old has led several notable franchises to success. He was appointed as RCB's skipper in 2022 and captained them for two years before stepping down. Under him, the Bangalore-based outfit made it to the 2024 playoffs. Elsewhere outside the IPL, Faf also endured a successful stint in the CPL by taking St Lucia Kings to their maiden CPL title win in 2024. Apart from CPL, the South African veteran also experienced a stellar run in MLC 2025. Leading the Texas Super Kings, Faf powdered the opposition with multiple centuries and took his side to a commanding position in the league.

Add to that, the South African southpaw has also captained the Proteas at the international level, leading his side in all three formats. Earlier in the IPL 2024 season, Faf served as a deputy to Axar. Faf's experience will be quite invaluable, and being the vice-captain of the team, he looks like the strongest contender to become the next captain of the Delhi Capitals ahead of the upcoming IPL season. 

KL Rahul

Indian all-format specialist batter KL Rahul is another formidable cricketing personality who can take over the captaincy baton from Axar ahead of the 19th IPL edition. Rahul is blessed with some strong captaincy credentials at his disposal. The Bangalore-based batter has so far captained two IPL franchises to this day—PBKS & LSG. His captaincy journey in the IPL began in 2020 with PBKS. Though PBKS struggled to make it to the top four, Rahul did not allow the burden of captaincy to affect his natural game. He finished the 2020 season as the highest run scorer with 670 runs to his name and slammed his best score of 132*, which was, at that time, the highest by an Indian in the IPL.

Then, in 2022, he switched his allegiance to LSG. Although he was ruled out midway through the 2023 season, Rahul was able to make a comeback a year later. However, LSG failed to deliver a promising performance under his leadership and crashed out prematurely from IPL 2024. Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of LSG, was visibly vexed to see the results, and Rahul was eventually sidelined from the squad ahead of IPL 2025. Although at first, Rahul declined to take over DC's captaincy ahead of the 2025 season, experts suggest he could change his mind as the next season looms large.

Tristan Stubbs

Tristan Stubbs, unlike his earlier predecessors, has age on his side. The South African batting all-rounder is currently in the midst of navigating the early phase of his IPL career. Although Stubbs has no credible captaincy experience under his belt, he is well known for being a key performer and a highly versatile player. Moreover, the Delhi Capitals assistant coach even went as far as describing him as a “player for the next five years”, thereby underscoring his growing importance to the team. His adaptability, backing himself in high-pressure moments, and tactical awareness have drawn praise, though always as a player and not as a leader. 

At age 25, and with growing visibility, leadership opportunities might not be far off if he continues on this trajectory. The combination of explosive batting, athleticism, and significant on-field contributions that he consistently showcases during crucial moments of a match may entice the DC management to move away from seasoned players and invest in the promising young all-rounder.

Delhi Capitals (DC), just before the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), decided to appoint the left-arm Indian spin all-rounder, Axar Patel, as the new leader of the side. The veteran has been a crucial member of the franchise in balancing the squad and team selection with his four overs of bowling and the batting ability at the lower or middle order of the line-up.

Under Axar Patel’s leadership, Delhi finished in the fifth position in the points table. They won seven encounters out of 14 games at a net run rate of +0.011. It was a bizarre season for the franchise, which started its event with five wins in the first six games before facing four defeats in the five games towards the business end of the competition.

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Axar clubbed 263 runs at a strike rate of 157.48 in 11 innings of the IPL 2025, with the best score of 43 runs. Along with that, he picked up just five wickets in 11 innings at an average of 57.60 and an economy rate of 8.47, with the best bowling figure of 2/19 in an innings.

Delhi Capitals likely to search for new captain to replace Axar Patel

The Capitals had several experienced players in the side, including the former two captains from the league, Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul. The latter contributed immensely with the bat, having accumulated 539 runs in 13 innings of the IPL 2025 at an average of 53.60 and a strike rate of 149.72, with three half-centuries and one century.

Axar was decent in the job, but to expect batting, bowling, and fielding at the grey areas of the ground, and then to lead the side was an external job for the left-arm spinner. On the other hand, Rahul could be an option, having crossed the 500-run mark in the last eight seasons of the event apart from 2023.

Faf can also be an option in this department. However, fitness could be a concern for the former Protea batter, who missed a big chunk of the previous season of the event due to injury. Else, they can look for some other batter for the position, which is unlikely to happen. 

Delhi Capitals (DC) star Sameer Rizvi marked Chennai Super Kings (CSK) icon MS Dhoni as one of the greatest T20 finishers, among a few other greats of the format. Rizvi did a challenging blindfold task of ranking six legends including MS Dhoni in the format as finishers.

Without any hesitation, the young batter put Dhoni right on the top of the list. Other than the former India skipper, de Villiers, Michael Hussey, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, and Michael Bevan were the contenders. After marking Dhoni as the best finisher of T20, Rizvi placed Pollard, Villiers, Hussey, Buttler, and Bevan in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th positions, respectively.

Due to the Indian Premier League (IPL), like many emerging cricketers, Sameer Rizvi also got a chance to share a dressing room with some of the big names of the game. CSK was Rizvi's first IPL team in his career. During the IPL 2024, he played a few matches for the multi-time IPL-winning franchise. Then, he got the chance to share some moments with Dhoni. Moments with the legendary keeper-batter were priceless for the Meerut-born cricketer. Sharing a conversation with the former India skipper, Rizvi said that Dhoni advised him to keep his nerves cool under pressure situations.

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Dhoni supported Rizvi off the field 

"He has always supported me off the field, especially on the mental side. He always tells us to stay calm in high-pressure situations and take deep breaths for 5–6 seconds, which will help us relax and think in a better way," Rizvi said. 

The emerging cricketer played 8 matches for CSK in IPL 2025, scoring only 51 runs at an average of 12.75. Ahead of the mega auction, CSK did not retain him, and Rizvi joined Delhi Capitals for IPL 2025, where he scored 121 runs at an average of over 40 and a strike rate of 153.16 in 5 matches. 

Afghanistan international Gulbadin Naib shared some amazing information about Rishabh Pant. Due to the Indian Premier League (IPL), overseas players got the chance to closely monitor top-notch Indian talents. Gulbadin was one of those foreign cricketers who shared a dressing room with top-tier Indian cricket talents. The Afghan all-rounder recently recalled his days with Rishabh Pant.

Naib, with pure admiration, praised the star keeper-batter. It is widely known that Afghanistan and Indian cricket shared a close bond with each other; Naid is no exception. When he was in Delhi Capitals (DC) with Rishabh Pant, he came to know more about Indians and Indian psychology.

Pant is often criticized for his reckless batting style, and as a captain, his IPL record is not something close to cheerable. But sometimes only matching results or numbers are not enough to explain someone's hard work. Rishabh Pant can be one of the prime examples of that. Naid said that off the field, the keeper-batter used to think a lot during their days with Delhi Capitals. Taking a step further, the Afghan star called Pant a mastermind.

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A mastermind: Gulbadin Naib

"Rishabh Pant is a mastermind. He thinks a lot. His approach is very different. I was with him at Delhi Capitals, right? When you stay close to Indians and watch movies and stuff, you get some idea of these things," Gulbadin Naib said. 

Naib was with DC during the 2024 Indian Premier League. It was the last season for Pant with the Delhi-based franchise before shifting his baggage to Lucknow Super Giants. Despite the severe car accident in 2022, Pant’s return to cricket in 2024 was nothing short of remarkable. Though he struggled to find his rhythm during the campaign. But, ahead of the next season (IPL 2025), Lucknow roped him in for an astonishing amount of INR 27 crores. 

The young leg spinner of the Delhi Capitals, Vipraj Nigam, was around some of the global superstars in the dressing room during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. And one of them was KL Rahul, the current Indian opening batter, who came into the franchise in the recent season, shifting his base from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)

Vipraj, during a recent conversation with CricXtasy, revealed that KL Rahul was an incredible human being off the field. He looked back at the special knock of the Karnataka-born when he smashed an unbeaten 93 runs in 53 balls to carry them over the line and dropped a savage celebration.

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“Perfect player, especially the innings in Bengaluru and the way he celebrated. He scored a century in Delhi. If you see the entire IPL, in every single IPL game, he would play such shots that seemed to be going on repeat. As a human being, he was very normal, like speaking to us and sitting with us. It never felt like you were sitting with KL Rahul. It never felt like that, whether at the dinner table or breakfast.” Nigam expressed during the podcast.

Watch: Vipraj Nigam describes KL Rahul’s nature during IPL 2025

The 21-year-old leg spinner, who picked up 11 wickets and thumped 142 runs at a strike rate of 179.14, looked back at the moment when Rahul gave him and his friends special treatment while clicking a few pictures with them.

The way Vipraj Nigam described KL Rahul's nature in this interview proves why so many people admire KL Rahul so much as a player and a human being. ❤️🥺🫶pic.twitter.com/WXCFgnk0u7

— KLR (@KLRNation1) August 6, 2025

“In Delhi, a few of my friends came, who insisted on clicking a few photos with KL bhai. So I hesitated to speak it straightaway. Then I texted him on WhatsApp if he could take time and click a few pictures. And he asked me to come to the breakfast table. So, everyone went there and clicked the pictures.” Vipraj Nigam added to the podcast.

A few reports have claimed that Rahul could shift his IPL base from Delhi for the next IPL season. It has been revealed that the Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings are in discussions with the veteran. He had a fantastic campaign in 2025, collecting 539 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of nearly 150 with three fifties and one half-century.

Amid the speculations of KL Rahul and Kolkata Knight Riders, in the latest development, an Indian pacer took the center of the stage. A Delhi Capitals fast bowler has been spotted in a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) shirt, which sparked speculations and led the netizens to search the chances of possibilities of a big-name trade for the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Recently, experienced Indian pacer Thangarasu Natarajan, famously known as T Natarajan, was spotted in a CSK shirt at one of their facilities, somewhere across their multiple venues around Tamil Nadu. He was at a Chennai Super Kings academy for training purposes. Over the years, IPL has been providing a stage for raw talents to shine.

Natarajan is one of the bowlers who has been performing relentlessly season after season. After experiencing 5 IPL campaigns with Sunrisers Hyderabad, he shifted to Delhi Capitals for the IPL 2025 season, where he got to play only a couple of matches, which was the lowest number of matches he has played after making his IPL debut with Punjab Kings back in 2017.

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Will he change the ship?

In the 2025 season, the Delhi-based franchise was close to getting a ticket for a top four spot, but they did not manage to utilize their opportunity. On the other side, IPL 2025 found CSK in one of their most vulnerable states since the inception of the league. For the next IPL season, the multiple-time IPL-winning franchise can shuffle their squad. 

Will Natarajan be on the verge of joining the Yellow Brigade? So far, there is no clarity to support the speculation. It could be just a practice session in a CSK facility. So far in his IPL career, the seamer has played 63 matches and gotten 67 wickets with an economy rate of 8.93. 

Even though the current focus and attention are on the ongoing five-match Test series between India and England ahead of the final fixture at the Kennington Oval in South London, the news of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is floating around on social media. Another report has dropped a bombshell trade news for a notable Indian batter.

It has been revealed that KL Rahul, who played for the Delhi Capitals in the 2025 season of the tournament, is likely to be traded by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who have lost two coaches in the past 24 hours. The IPL 2024 champions saw their head coach, Chandrakant Pandit, and bowling coach, Bharat Arun, leave them before the 19th edition.

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Rahul, who has played for multiple franchises in the league, including the Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Lucknow Super Giants, and Delhi, has been a consistent performer over the years. Under his captaincy, Lucknow reached the playoffs on successive occasions in 2022 and 2023 before a poor season with the bat in terms of strike, and an internal issue with the owner, Sanjeev Goenka, saw him lose his place in the side.

KL Rahul is likely to get traded by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2026

Rahul is currently the seventh leading run-getter in IPL history with 5222 runs in 136 innings at an average of 46.21 and a strike rate of 136.02, having scored five centuries and 40 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 132 runs. Last season, he drilled 539 runs in 13 innings at an average of 53.90 and a strike rate of nearly 150 with three fifties and one century.

Apart from his 274 runs in IPL 2024, Rahul has smashed over 500 runs in every single season since 2018. That’s an unbelievable record for any batter to have. If the Karnataka batter gets into the Kolkata side, he could replace Ajinkya Rahane as the new leader, having not gotten the chance in Delhi, with Axar Patel getting the responsibility.

Moreover, Rahul has enjoyed batting at the Eden Gardens in the IPL. The right-handed batter has smacked 179 runs at this venue in four innings at a strike rate of 153 with two fifties at the best score of 79.

In a major move, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) appointed a forgotten Indian star as their talent scout. Iqbal Abdulla got a new role. As per the latest updates, the 35-year-old is all set to represent Delhi Capitals. 

Iqbal Abdulla was once considered one of the emerging talents of Indian cricket. The cricketer with his surprising spin bowling abilities made headlines during his under-19 days with India and then in multiple IPL teams. Basically a spinner, who could swing the bat at the lower order when the team needed. Before his IPL career, the left-hander with his nation produced some incredible numbers. He finished as India Under-19s' leading wicket-taker at the World Cup in Malaysia in 2008. He concluded the tournament with ten wickets at an average of 13.

But his most memorable season was during 2010-11. In this season, in the Ranji Trophy, Abdulla capped 27 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, and then he did an exciting job with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Abdulla claimed 16 wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2011 IPL, securing the Under-23 player of the tournament award. Despite the immense potential to become the next big thing, the Azamgarh-born often faced trouble because of his inconsistency. In the following season, his performance graph started to fall. In the next Ranji season, he managed to get only 13 wickets in six matches. 

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Apart from his stint with the national side, some of the spinner's memorable spells came for Kolkata Knight Riders. After IPL 2011, his IPL form gradually decreased, and before IPL 2014, he was traded to Rajasthan Royals from KKR, and then, from 2015 to 2017, he played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. 

On the other side, the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025 made a promising run but fell short by a few inches from making their way to the round of four. Capitals 'may look to reinforcement before the upcoming Indian Premier League to increase their squad depth. 

Mitchell Starc finally opened up about his decision to not participate in the remainder of the IPL 2025 after the resumption. Strac and other cricketers involved in this IPL season experienced some tense moments due to the cross-border tension between India and Pakistan.

The Australian ace pacer now clearly said that due to security reasons, he decided not to return to India for the rest of the IPL 2025 season. The pacer was a pivotal part of Delhi Capitals (DC), and his departure eventually had some impact on their performance. DC couldn't extend their run beyond the primary stage of the tournament by some margins.

Starc got tense when they went to Dharamshala to face Punjab Kings. The match had to stop midway due to security reasons. After this incident, BCCI announced to put IPL on a one-week halt. Later, a special Vande Bharat was sent to the north region to carry the players, staff, and crew to a safer place.

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The incident in Dharmashala was too much for the star pacer. He chose safety before playing for the Delhi Capitals. Ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final (WTC Final), Starc said about his experiences followed by the decision to leave India. 

The reasons behind his departure 

"I’m comfortable with my decision and how I felt about the whole situation and how it was handled. That’s why I made my decision post-that, and my focus changed to red-ball cricket for about a week prior to coming over here (the UK). Time will tell with repercussions or how it looks with guys that didn’t return," Starc said in a recent interview. 

"Things were handled differently for different players and different teams. The guys up in Dharamsala, the Punjab guys, were part of that, and while both teams had similar experiences up there, all those guys returned for Punjab, and Jake (Fraser-McGurk) and I chose not to. It was a very individual decision, and I’m happy to live with whatever comes of that."

Shreyas Iyer has carved a remarkable legacy as a captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), leading teams to significant milestones over the years. His tactical acumen and leadership have made him a standout figure in the tournament’s history.

Playoffs After 7 Long Seasons with Delhi Capitals (2019)

In 2019, Iyer was appointed captain of Delhi Capitals (DC) and strictly injured the mediocrity that the franchise endured over the last 7 years, as it did not prepare for playoffs in those past years. Under Iyer’s leadership, DC reached the playoffs and made the team finish 3rd in the league stage with 18 points from 14 matches. His rookie status, his calmness, and his motivation were immeasurable in overcoming a long history of mediocrity. 

First-Ever Final in 13 Seasons with Delhi Capitals (2020)

Iyer's captaincy reached its peak in 2020 when he led Delhi Capitals to their first IPL final in the franchise's history that spanned 13 years. DC presented incredible consistency as they finished second in the league stage with 16 points. Iyer's tactics, such as supporting young guns like Prithvi Shaw and using veterans like Kagiso Rabada to best effect, took the team to the final. While they lost to Mumbai Indians, Iyer's captaincy had established DC as a strong unit.

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Title Glory After 10 Seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders (2024)

In 2024, Iyer captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title and the franchise's first in 10 seasons. KKR was dominant all year and ranked first in the points table before beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. Iyer combined a hyper-aggressive style of captaincy with the team management of a star-studded team with Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. 

Final After 11 Seasons with Punjab Kings (2025)

Iyer's most recent achievement was guiding Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the IPL final in 2025 after 11 seasons. Even during this time, PBKS was never able to put it all together as a consistently performing team. Iyer brought that level of stability to the franchise and took them to the final with the help of outstanding performances by players like Arshdeep Singh. Despite falling short of the title in 2025, Iyer's mark at PBKS was impressive and further expanded his already illustrious tenure as a captain in the IPL.