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The Indian cricketing calendar is all set to resume with the five-match T20I series against England, scheduled to start from Wednesday, January 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. While the Men in Blue will host England in a limited overs series, including five T20Is and three ODIs, they will then travel to Dubai for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Followed by the marquee 50-over tournament, the Indian cricketing fever will return with the 18 th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). Ahead of the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league, three of the ten franchises are yet to reveal their skipper for the season. This comes a day after the Lucknow Super Giants announced Rishabh Pant as their captain for IPL 2025.
Axar Patel likely to be DC’s captain in IPL 2025
While Pant was released from the DC squad ahead of the mega auction in Jeddah, the Delhi-based franchise secured the services of KL Rahul for a sum of INR 14 Crore. But ahead of the upcoming season, the franchise is yet to announce their skipper, however, they have time and again hinted on either of KL Rahul or Axar Patel to takeover the reins.
In the latest move, former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik dropped a big hint on DC skipper. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik revealed that it will be all-rounder Axar Patel, and not KL Rahul after he previously served as Rishabh Pant’s deputy. Moreover, Axar Patel was the skipper in Rishabh Pant’s absence and has been appointed in the same role in the T20I series against England.
"For Axar Patel, all the very best. A good opportunity for him. Heard he's going to be the Delhi Capitals captain as well. Here is a good opportunity for him to lead and show the way, he's been doing that for Gujarat as well. Wish him all the luck," Karthik said.
It is to be noted that Axar Patel was DC’s highest retention ahead of the mega auction. The Indian all-rounder was retained for a sum of INR 16.5 Crore, along with Kuldeep Yadav (INR 13.25 Cr), Tristan Stubbs (INR 10 Cr) and Abishek Porel (INR 4 Cr).
Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2025 squad
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Mitchell Starc, KL Rahul, Harry Brook, Jake Fraser-McGurk, T Natarajan, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Faf du Plessis, Dushmantha Chameera, Vipraj Nigam, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari