KL Rahul or Axar Patel - who should DC appoint as their captain after IPL 2025 Auction?
Delhi Capitals (DC) assembled one of the best squads on paper with several smart buys during the IPL 2025 auction. While losing their talisman Rishabh Pant to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) was massive, the franchise made up with the acquisition of KL Rahul.
After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons since 2022, DC rejigged its squad with a tremendous mixture of experience and youth. However, the final piece of their pre-season puzzle will be the appointment of a captain for the next three-year cycle.
While an overseas option with incredible captaincy experience like Faf du Plessis has been floated around, all indications are that one of Rahul or Axar Patel will lead the side from next season.
DC co-owner Parth Jindal created further confusion when he told the media that Axar and Rahul will lead the side in the upcoming season.
“We have a very young batting lineup. Both KL and Axar are going to lead them and are going to guide them. KL's batting and experience will be a vital cog in the wheel," he said as quoted by India Today.
As DC ponder between Rahul and Axar to lead them in 2025, we deep dive into the key factors that could sway the decision one way or the other.
One-way traffic when it comes to experience and numbers
The first step in any decision-making process must be analyzing the tangible evidence, which instantly favors KL Rahul over Axar Patel.
The former has extensive IPL captaincy experience, leading two franchises for almost five full seasons from 2020 to 2024. Rahul's first gig at captaincy came with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2020 and 2021.
He led the franchise to sixth-place finishes with identical records of six wins and eight losses in both editions. Yet, since moving on from Rahul, PBKS has endured worse results with a sixth, eighth, and ninth-place finish from 2022 to 2024.
The 32-year-old then moved to LSG, a new franchise with a completely fresh setup from players, management, and ownership. Nevertheless, Rahul immediately led them to the playoffs in their maiden campaign in 2022, culminating with a third-place finish.
Despite captaining the side for only half of the next season due to injury, Rahul's LSG made it back-to-back playoff qualifications in 2023. However, things went downhill for him on and off the field this year as LSG missed the playoffs for the first time with a seventh-place finish, winning only half of their 14 outings.
Yet and still, Rahul's overall IPL captaincy record stands at 31 wins and as many losses in 64 matches, making him the skipper with the joint-eighth most wins in league history.
Furthermore, the veteran gloveman has plenty of experience captaining the Indian side across formats.
Coming to Axar, he has led in the IPL only once - the 2024 season with DC when Rishabh Pant was suspended for slow over-rate in their penultimate outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Unfortunately, DC suffered a 47-run defeat despite Axar scoring an impressive 39-ball 57.
Verdict: KL Rahul's extensive captaincy experience and reasonable success trumps Axar Patel's by a landslide
Value of the unwritten hierarchical rule
It must be said the time is right for Axar Patel to take the next step and become DC's skipper, by the letter of the law and the unwritten hierarchical rule. The 30-year-old has been part of the franchise for the last six seasons since 2019, helping them make their first-ever final in 2020.
Axar has also been the vice-captain for the last two seasons, meaning captaincy is the natural progression with Pant's departure as the incumbent. The recent India-Australia Perth Test was a great example of how operating by this rule ultimately pays dividends over just leaning back on experience.
With regular skipper Rohit Sharma out for the game, his deputy Jasprit Bumrah took over the leadership duties despite previously captaining India only once in a Test match.
The squad boasted arguably India's best Test captain, Virat Kohli - also the first-ever Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia in 2018/19. Yet, instead of going back to him for the first Test, India followed the progressive method of vice-captain becoming captain and had Bumrah leading the side.
The result was a massive 295-run win, with the entire cricketing world showering praise on Bumrah's brilliant captaincy.
The Rohit-Bumrah-Kohli triangle can be connected with the Pant-Axar-Rahul trio, with the Perth Test serving as a demo for DC to confidently hand the captaincy reigns to Axar Patel.
Verdict: Axar Patel's time with the Delhi Capitals as a player and vice-captain must be duly rewarded with captaincy honors
Familiarity of Axar Patel vs Proof of Concept of KL Rahul?
With one part of tangible evidence favoring KL Rahul and another favoring Axar Patel for captaincy, the decision will likely come down to intangibles.
Despite the changes in personnel from the players to support staff, Axar's familiarity with the franchise and connection with the fanbase cannot be underestimated. Yet, Rahul has the evidence of leading sides for sustained periods with some amount of success.
He has also shown the ability to take over a completely new side with fresh faces during his stint with LSG.
Hence, such a coin-flip decision could come down to the two players' desire, proper communication between them and the other key stakeholders involved, and ultimately deriving the best move for team success.