IPL25
Follow UsWhen KL Rahul was purchased for INR 14 crore at the mega auction by Delhi Capitals, it was assumed by many that the franchise had bought the Indian star because they had zeroed in on him as their captain. However, DC co-owner Parth Jindal has now hinted that there’s every chance the franchise might instead hand over captaincy to Axar Patel.
Axar, whom the Capitals retained for 16.50 cr, was the franchise's vice-captain in IPL 2024 and even captained the team in one contest against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. DC lost that clash, but Axar impressed, scoring 57 off 39 with the bat and registering figures of 0/24 with the ball.
“It's a bit premature to talk about the captaincy. Axar Patel has been with the franchise for a very long time and he was the vice-captain for the last cycle, so we don't know whether it's going to be Axar or whether it's going to be somebody else,” Jindal told ESPNCricinfo.
“A lot has to happen. I spoke to KL but haven't met him yet. I know him very well personally, I will understand from him (what he thinks), and, it will boil down to what the coaching group and finally what Kiran (Grandhi, the co-owner) and I want to do. There's a lot of time for that.”
Jindal, however, revealed that he was pleased to have secured Rahul's services, given the pair's very good relationship. The DC co-owner revealed that Rahul was eager to see both himself and the franchise win the IPL for the first time.
“A lot has to happen. I spoke to KL but haven't met him yet. I know him very well personally, I will understand from him (what he thinks), and, it will boil down to what the coaching group and finally what Kiran (Grandhi, the co-owner) and I want to do. There's a lot of time for that,” Jindal said of Rahul.
“So he (Rahul) was like, ‘I just want to play cricket. I just want to get the love and support from the franchise. I just want to get the respect and I know Parth from you, I will get that and just can't be more excited to play for a friend and let's make Delhi win. I have never won (IPL). Delhi has never won. Let's do it together.’”
The DC co-owner further listed the reasons for going after Rahul, with ‘stability’ being the biggest one. Jindal revealed that the franchise planned to construct the team’s batting primarily around two individuals: Rahul and Axar.
“He's an incredible, I would say, technically solid batsman. He will thrive at the Kotla, given the size of the ground. He also gives us flexibility: he can bat anywhere in the top four, and that's a very rare skill for someone to have. He's also great senior player to have in the dressing room, a great mind of the game as well. And he's just a great brand ambassador,” Jindal said of Rahul.
“He's super polite, he's gentle, he's aggressive when he needs to be. And the most obvious thing he gives you is 450 runs (in a season) guaranteed, which is something he's done his whole (IPL) career. So that kind of consistency is rare to find.
“In terms of responsibility, KL and Axar are going to play a bigger role for the batting, and we are going to be surrounding them with explosive players - whether it's a Jake Fraser-McGurk, whether it's a Tristan Stubbs, whether it's a Harry Brook, whether it's an Ashutosh Sharma - there is a lot of explosive power in the team.
“And you need someone to hold the team together, and, in KL, we have a batsman who can definitely hold one end up and play on those difficult wickets as well.”
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