Axar Patel appointed as Delhi Capitals captain for IPL 2025

Axar Patel has been named as the new skipper of the Delhi Capitals (DC) for the upcoming IPL season in 2025.

He has been with DC since 2019 and was their top retention for INR 16.50 crore ahead of the mega auction last November. While his captaincy experience isn't extensive, he was named India's T20I vice-captain in January this year.

Axar, 31, has led his state team Gujarat in 23 matches across formats, most recently in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2024-25. He captained DC in one IPL match last year - a must-win fixture that they lost to RCB to miss out on the playoffs - when Rishabh Pant was serving a ban for a slow over-rate.

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With Pant's exit from the DC franchise ahead of the mega auction, Axar was their most experienced player. He's played 82 games for them across six seasons; last year he scored 235 runs at an average of nearly 30 and took 11 wickets with an economy rate of 7.65.

He comes into this IPL season having played an important role in India's triumphant Champions Trophy campaign. Axar took five wickets with an economy rate of 4.35 and made vital contributions batting at No. 5 in the tournament.

Of the IPL's original eight franchises, DC are one of three - along with Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru - to have never won a title. They finished sixth last season, having won and lost seven games each. This year, Axar will work with a new team management at DC, comprising Hemang Badani (head coach), Venugopal Rao (director of cricket) and Matthew Mott (assistant coach). They begin their IPL 2025 campaign by hosting LSG in Visakhapatnam on March 24.

With DC announcing Axar, all five teams that needed a new captain after the mega auction have named their leaders: RCB will be led by Rajat Patidar, Kolkata Knight Riders by Ajinkya Rahane, Lucknow Super Giants by Rishabh Pant, and Punjab Kings by Shreyas Iyer.