Axar Patel and KL Rahul [Source: @DelhiCapitals, @mufaddal_vohra/x]
KL Rahul has extended his best wishes to Delhi Capitals teammate and new captain Axar Patel for the upcoming IPL 2025 season. While Axar and Rahul were both reportedly in consideration to become the next Delhi Capitals captain, the latter of the two cricketers apparently pulled himself out of the race, leaving the Indian all-rounder as the leading contender to replace Rishabh Pant.
Mere hours after Delhi Capitals confirmed Axar Patel as its new skipper, Rahul took to the Instagram comments and wished his teammate the very best on his new journey.
KL Rahul extends wishes to Axar Patel for captaincy gig
On Friday, March 14, KL Rahul took to Instagram and expressed his best wishes for Team India and Delhi Capitals teammate Axar Patel upon becoming the new captain of the franchise for the IPL 2025 season. The charismatic Indian batter, who recently starred in India’s 2025 ICC Champions Trophy win in the UAE, wrote:
“Congrats Bapu. Wishing you the best in this journey and always with you.”
KL Rahul, who himself led the Lucknow Super Giants for the past three seasons, was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals released its skipper, dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant during the same player retention window. As it turned out, both Rahul and Pant ended up swapping their IPL franchises on the day of the auction.
Nonetheless, under the leadership of Axar Patel, the Delhi Capitals franchise will take on the LSG in its opening match of the IPL 2025 season. The match will be hosted by the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam on March 24.