Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has added that the Delhi Capitals (DC) have three captaincy options in the IPL 2025 as well. He named Axar Patel and KL Rahul as the Indian players who could be in race for the leadership role, with Faf du Plessis being the overseas option as well. Notably, they retained Axar for ₹16.50 crore whereas they bought Rahul (₹14 crore) and Du Plessis (₹2 crore) at the auction in Jeddah last year as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “I feel Delhi have three options. They have Axar Patel and KL Rahul, and they have Faf du Plessis as well. They retained Axar Patel. Bapu’s stature is growing. He has been outstanding of late. He is the Indian T20I team’s vice-captain,” he said. “He will play the Champions Trophy as well and has been given a very important role in the Indian ODI team. He is mature. He is brilliant. He understands the pulse of the game. He puts the team ahead of himself. So he could be a great choice.”

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However, Axar Patel claimed 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.65 in 14 innings for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024. He also smashed 235 runs at a strike rate of 131.28 in 12 innings last season as well. In the same video, Aakash Chopra also added that KL Rahul’s captaincy experience can be an option for the Delhi Capitals.

“The second is KL Rahul. I feel they got him cheap. It was a steal. He has got some captaincy credentials. He has captained India, the Punjab Kings, and the Lucknow Super Giants for three years, and they qualified two years as well. So he could be the captain. I think it’s going to be a close race. One has been retained and the other has been bought. So one between the two, or else if they want to think absolutely left-field, then Faf du Plessis, who is not getting old at all. However, I have a feeling that it could be Axar,” Aakash Chopra concluded.