New Delhi: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals on Friday appointed Indian all-rounder Axar Patel as the new captain of the team ahead of the IPL 2025 season. The 31-year-old will take over the leadership role from Rishabh Pant at the Capitals following his move to Lucknow Super Giants.
Patel made his first appearance for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2019 after he was purchased for a sum of INR 5 crore in the auction held before the season. He has played 82 matches for the JSW-GMR co-owned franchise across six seasons, having scored 967 runs with the bat at a strike rate of 134.11 and returned with 62 wickets at an economy rate of 7.06.
He is the team’s third most wicket-taker after South African speedster Kagiso Rabada (76 wickets) and Indian spinner Amit Mishra (110 wickets). Axar served as the vice-captain of the team to David Warner in IPL 2023 followed by Pant in IPL 2024.
Speaking on the appointment of the power-fire Gujarat youngster, Delhi Capitals chairman Kiran Kumar Grandhi said that it was a natural progression given that he was the team’s vice-captain.
“We are delighted to appoint Axar as the Delhi Capitals captain. He has been an integral part of the Capitals family since 2019 and embodies the values that this team is built on,” Grandhi stated.
Axar Patel thanked the owners of the franchsie for showing faith in him and exuded confidence for the role in the 18th edition of the IPL.
“It is my absolute honour to captain the Delhi Capitals, and I’m deeply grateful to our owners and support staff for placing their faith in me. I’ve grown as a cricketer and a human being during my time here at the Capitals, and I feel ready and confident to lead this side going forward,” Patel said.
“Our coaches and scouts have done a superb job at the mega auction by putting together a balanced and robust squad which has tremendous potential. We have plenty of leaders in the group which is also very helpful for me, and I can’t wait to join the team as we look forward to a very successful season for the Capitals, backed by the immense love and support of our fans,” he added.
Patel has overall played 150 IPL matches since making his debut for the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL 2014. He has amassed 1653 runs in 113 innings and has picked 123 wickets in the tournament. He played 73 IPL matches for the Punjab outfit between 2014 and 2018, which is still the third most by any player after South Africa’s David Miller (84 appearances) and Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (87 appearances).
The Indian all-rounder’s appointment of Delhi Capitals skipper ends the high speculations of Indian player KL Rahul being the likely replacement to Pant for the role. Pant is the most-capped player for the Delhi Capitals with 111 appearances in eight seasons. He was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
RPSG Group-owned Lucknow Super Giants bought the Indian keeper-batter for a record-breaking bid of INR 27 crore in the mega auction held in November last year in Saudi Arabia.
Indian all-rounder Axar Patel has been appointed captain of the Delhi Capitals for the IPL 2025 season. He succeeds Rishabh Pant in the role. Patel, a key player for Delhi since 2019, expressed gratitude and confidence in leading the team. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
