Indian all-rounder Axar Patel will captain Delhi Capitals (DC) in the upcoming IPL 2026, but their main strength will not be their leader. Last year, everything went wrong for the Capitals.
They had a great start, but constant changes and changes didn’t help them as Delhi Capitals failed to make the playoffs. Delhi’s big players failed to perform consistently and the team kept losing momentum. Still, DC didn’t make too many changes to the mini-auction.
3 players can lead DC to IPL 2026 glory
He released players such as Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk and signed experienced, influential and proven star players such as David Miller, Ben Duckett, Pathum Nissanka and Lungi Ngidi. Well, KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller will strengthen the batting, while Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will handle the spin department.
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Although, he may miss the presence of Mitchell Starc in the opening matches, he looks strong to make a strong impact. We predict that KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Tristan Stubbs will play a key role in the team’s success in the upcoming IPL 2026.
KL Rahul
Indian wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul could be the most important player for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming IPL 2026 after improving his strike rate. The right-handed batsman made his DC debut last year and made a surprising impact with the bat, scoring 539 runs at a strike rate of around 150.
Delhi had a big problem with opening and Rahul can solve this with his ability to hold one end and then increase the pace when needed. The Karnataka star is expected to open the innings and give DC a strong and steady start in the upcoming season.
He is one of the most consistent top-order batsmen in the IPL, having scored over 4,400 runs at an average close to 50. Overall, the former PBKS and LSG captain has 5,222 runs in 145 matches in the IPL.
Tristan Stubbs
Tristan Stubbs continues to be a big X-factor for the Capitals. He is a highly aggressive anchor-finisher in the middle order against both spin and fast bowling. In the death overs, he can be a very dangerous batsman, and DC should feel blessed to have such a talented star, who is also a useful wicketkeeper and off-spinner.
Stubbs, who was retained by the franchise for Rs 10 crore, has so far scored 705 runs in 32 IPL matches at a high strike rate of 163.19 and taken 4 wickets at an average of 17.25. Additionally, the South African star has also taken 17 catches to prove his multi-faceted skills.
-Kuldeep Yadav
India wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav remains the main wicket-taker for DC along with captain Axar Patel after being retained by the franchise for ₹13.25 crore. The job of the Chinaman bowler is to break partnerships by attacking the batsmen.
His left-arm wrist spin, googly and flight confuse the batsmen, giving DC the advantage. He is the team’s trump card in difficult moments, as he scores low runs and takes important wickets. Kuldeep has played 98 matches in the IPL so far and has taken 102 wickets at an economy rate of 8 and an average of over 26.
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