KL Rahul MISSES Out on Delhi Capitals Captaincy to Axar Patel – Is This The Right Move Ahead of IPL 2025? – Republic World

Updated 10:09 IST, March 14th 2025
IPL 2025: Delhi Capitals happen to be one of the few franchises in the history of the cash-rich Indian Premier League to have not won the coveted crown. Once KL Rahul was bought for a whopping Rs 14 Cr at the auction, one reckoned DC have got their man, their captain. 
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Rahul has the experience of leading IPL sides and has also led the national team in the past – and hence he made for an ideal captaincy candidate. At the auction, one felt he was picked so that he could lead. But that did not happen, as the owners of DC had other plans in mind. 
India allrounder Axar Patel pipped Rahul to be named as the skipper of DC for the upcoming season. So, how did this happen? In fact, the writing was on the wall when Patel was retained for a staggering Rs 16.50 crore.
Both Axar Patel and KL Rahul have been in good form. Both the cricketers were part of India’s winning Champions Trophy 2025 squad and both of them played their roles to perfection. And hence the question is, was it right to appoint Patel over Rahul? Only time will have the answer, but as of now – it seems, this is the right call and a number of factors played a part in it. 
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For starters, one reckoned Rahul was a little burdened by the role of being an IPL captain when he was leading the Lucknow Super Giants . That also took a toll on his batting and his strike rate. He faced the heat after LSG did not do well. For him personally, it would be a new start. One believes without the burden of captaincy, Rahul can play with more freedom and that is something the DC side would be expecting of him in the upcoming season. 
Published 10:01 IST, March 14th 2025
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