IPL 2026 is all set to start from March 28. Ahead of the opening day of the tournament, KL Rahul once again became the center of the stage. Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman Subramaniam Badrinath expressed concern over whether Rahul is happy at Delhi Capitals.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction, there were doubts over KL Rahul’s future with Delhi Capitals. It was believed that the batsman might leave the franchise. His name was linked with several other franchises like CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Proving the speculations wrong, the batsman is staying in Delhi.
Former CSK batsman has made shocking claims on the relationship between KL Rahul and Delhi Capitals
Subramaniam Badrinath is worried about the batting position of the Karnataka-born player. Last season he was the regular opener of the team. As an opening batsman, Rahul scored 539 runs in just 13 innings in the 2025 season. Still, it is unclear whether Delhi Capitals will continue with Rahul as a regular opening batsman or not.
The former batsman feels that the uncertainty over the batting conditions could create a rift between the experienced cricketer and the franchise. A few days ago, DC chief Hemang Badani had said that they are yet to decide Rahul’s role in the batting order, as they have multiple options for the top-order batting slot.
Delhi Capitals’ batting order remains an unsolved puzzle
After understanding key batsmen like Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk, Delhi Capitals chose Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka and England’s Ben Duckett, who are both natural opening batsmen. If the franchise wants to fit both Nissanka and Duckett for the opening positions, they will have to bring Rahul down the batting order.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Badrinath said, “Every year, the batting order is their puzzle, especially where KL Rahul should bat. I believe KL Rahul wants to open the innings. But, on the other hand, the team management wants him to bat in the middle order.”
He said, “It seems like it is a constant struggle. They definitely have to resolve this issue. It is not clear whether KL Rahul is happy in DC or not.”
IPL 2026 can play an important role in Rahul’s T20 career
The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League is going to be very important for KL Rahul. Despite scoring a lot of runs in the league, he is out of the T20 International team. For the Twenty20 set-up, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav mostly prefer emerging talent. Players like Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma and Abhishek Sharma went on to play T20Is for India after performing brilliantly in the IPL for their respective teams.
It is believed that if Rahul continues the form that he showed last season, the selectors may again think of the versatile cricketer for the shortest format of the game. If Delhi Capitals choose to rely on Rahul as an opener, they will have to drop either Pathum Nissanka or Ben Duckett.
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