How Axar Patel’s captaincy could revolutionise Delhi Capitals this IPL

India allrounder Axar Patel was on Friday appointed captain of Delhi Capitals for upcoming IPL on expected lines pipping another senior player KL Rahul who has joined the team this seasonCurrently teams longest serving player having played six seasons for Delhi since 2019 the 31yearold was DCs top retention for INR 1650 crore ahead of the mega auction last November In 82 games for Delhi he has scored 967 runs and picked up 62 wickets at a fantastic economy rate of shade over 7While his IPL captaincy experience is limited he led Gujarat in domestic cricket including the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy in 202425He also served as Indiarsquos T20I vicecaptain earlier this year and in their recent triumph in Champions Trophy Axar played a key role taking five wickets at an economy of 435 He also played a key role at No 5 and scored 109 runs at 2725It is my absolute honour to captain the Delhi Capitals and Im deeply grateful to our owners and support staff for placing their faith in me stated Axar in a media releaseAxar will replace Rishabh Pant at the helm with the flamboyant keeperbatter exiting the franchise before the mega auction and will now lead Lucknow Super GiantsThe team has seasoned players like Rahul Kuldeep Yadav Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Starc in the leadership group and it remains to be seen how Axar brings out the best in them to drive Delhi Capitals forwardIrsquove 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 forwardDC one of the three original IPL franchises yet to win a title along with Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished sixth last season with an equal winloss recordFor IPL 2025 they have a revamped coaching setup with GMR taking management control for 2025 and 2026 season as per their understanding with coowners JSWThe support staff is headlined by Kevin Pietersen along with head coach Hemang Badani director of cricket Venugopal Rao assistant coach Matthew Mott and bowling coach Munaf Patel Venugopal Raos brother Gnaneshwar Rao has also been included in the coaching setupOur coaches and scouts have done a superb job at the mega auction by putting together a balanced and robust squad which has tremendous potentialWe have plenty of leaders in the group which is also very helpful for me and I canrsquot wait to join the team as we look forward to a very successful season Last season he scored 235 runs at an average of nearly 30 and took 11 wickets at an economy of 765A veteran of 150 IPL matches Axar has 1653 runs and 123 wickets to his name which includes a stunning hattrick in 2016 when he took 4 wickets in 5 balls for the Punjab franchiseDC chairman Kiran Kumar Grandhi and coowner Parth Jindal backed his appointment highlighting his leadership qualities and contributions to the franchiseI have witnessed Axarrsquos progression as a cricketer and a leader firsthand at the Delhi Capitalsrdquo stated JindalMy relationship with him is one that goes beyond cricket He is a muchloved character in the dressing room and is someone who I am sure will motivate the players in the squadAxar has blossomed into a brilliant mature cricketer whose allround prowess was on full display in Indiarsquos T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy winning campaigns recentlyWith seniors like KL Rahul Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Starc being part of our leadership group I believe this is the start of something special for the Delhi Capitalsrdquo This decision reflects the natural progression for him as a leader from being our vicecaptain for two seasons to now leading the team he has always stepped up to the occasion for us stated GrandhiWith Axarrsquos appointment all five IPL teams who needed new captains after the mega auction have finalised their leaders Rajat Patidar RCB Ajinkya Rahane KKR Rishabh Pant LSG and Shreyas Iyer PBKSDelhi Capitals will kickstart their IPL 2025 campaign against Lucknow Super Giants in Visakhapatnam on March 24With PTI inputs