"I feel Delhi have 3 options" - Aakash Chopra picks Delhi Capitals' potential captain for IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has reckoned that the Delhi Capitals (DC) have three captaincy options heading into IPL 2025. He named Axar Patel and KL Rahul as the Indian players who could be in contention for the leadership role, with Faf du Plessis being the overseas option.

The Capitals retained Axar for ₹16.50 crore ahead of the mega auction. They bought Rahul (₹14 crore) and Du Plessis (₹2 crore) at the auction in Jeddah last year.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener opined that the Delhi Capitals have three players to choose from as their skipper for IPL 2025 and highlighted Axar's captaincy credentials.

"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 (9:15).

"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," Chopra added.

Axar Patel picked up 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.65 in 14 innings for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024. He also scored 235 runs at a strike rate of 131.28 in 12 innings last season.

---

"He has got some captaincy credentials" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul as the Delhi Capitals' captaincy option for IPL 2025

KL Rahul amassed 520 runs at a strike rate of 136.12 in 14 innings for the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that KL Rahul's captaincy experience makes him an enticing leadership 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," he said (9:55).

While pointing out that Faf du Plessis will be an out-of-the-box captaincy option, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Axar Patel will likely lead the Delhi-based franchise.

"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," Chopra observed.

Du Plessis captained the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the last three seasons of the IPL. The Bengaluru-based franchise recently named Rajat Patidar as their skipper for IPL 2025.