Indian T20I vice-captain Axar Patel will once again be seen leading the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, while the presence of KL Rahul in the team will put immense pressure on his captaincy role.
Delhi Capitals started their campaign in IPL 2025 in great style as they chased the highest score in IPL history. After a great start with consecutive wins, the Capitals failed to qualify for the knockouts due to consecutive defeats at the end.
Delhi Capitals is now one of the two franchises that have not won a single IPL title in the history of the competition. He last played in the IPL final in 2020 under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting.
Axar Patel’s record as captain of Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals made some major changes in their team and also changed their entire coaching staff. Axar was appointed captain as he revamped his entire team with new players.
After leading Delhi Capitals to four consecutive wins, Axar Patel became the first player to lead DC to four consecutive IPL wins, breaking the former record held by Indian legend Virender Sehwag who had previously led them to three wins.
Delhi Capitals got off to their best start in IPL 2025, winning five of their first six matches; However, in the remaining eight matches of the season, the Axar Patel-led side lost on 5 occasions and managed just one more win.
With 7 wins and 15 points for the Capitals, Axar Patel could not lead them to their first title and missed a place in the knockouts by just one point. Mumbai Indians qualified with 16 points. In 14 matches, Akshar won 7 and lost six, while only one game was washed out by rain.
KL Rahul’s presence puts pressure on Axar Patel
Delhi Capitals has experienced Indian batsman KL Rahul and his presence puts a lot of pressure on all-rounder spinner Axar Patel, who is captaining Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025.
KL Rahul has been a leader for a long time in the T20 format and especially in the IPL. He has led the Punjab Kings between 2020 and 2021 after taking over the captaincy from former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
He then played for Lucknow Super Giants and captained them for three seasons between 2022 and 2024. Captaining Punjab Kings, he played 27 matches and won 12 while losing 13. His winning percentage was minimum 44.44%.
On the other hand, he captained LSG in 37 IPL matches and managed to win 20 games while losing 17 games. With a win percentage of 54.05%, Rahul has led them to two playoffs in 2022 and 2023. However, after missing out in 2024, he moved to Delhi Capitals in 2025 for a hefty sum of Rs 14 crore.
Will KL Rahul become the captain of Delhi Capitals in place of Akshar Patel?
Although KL Rahul is a very experienced player and will prove to be vital for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming IPL season, the captaincy is best suited for experienced Indian all-rounder Axar Patel. Patel may be new to the role; However, his contribution in the format for India and the Capitals has been extraordinary.
If an all-rounder is promoted up the batting order he often promises good batting, and with the captaincy role, he can often make such decisions for himself. As captain, Akshar often brings himself to the start to defend quick scoring in the powerplay.
Furthermore, he manages the spin attack and rotates his bowlers efficiently. KL Rahul may be a good captain, but Axar is well aware of the playing conditions on the North Indian pitches, where the Capitals play most of their games.
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