IPL 2025: KL Rahul Stays Away From Leadership Role, Delhi Capitals Name Surprising Vice-Captain

South African batter Faf Du Plessis was named as the vice-captain of the Delhi Capitals (DC) team ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. DC made the announcement on their official X handle by posting a video, in which Faf could be seen talking to someone on phone, saying phrases like "I am at home", "Delhi has been great and boys have been fantastic" to express his closeness with the team and also confirmed that he "is the vice-captain of Delhi Capitals and is very excited".

Pick up your phones, it's your vice-captain calling pic.twitter.com/W3AkYO4QKZ

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 17, 2025

Faf, has played 404 T20s so far for his country and franchises across the globe and is still going strong at the age of 40 in leagues all over the world. He has made 11,236 runs at an average of 32.66 with six centuries and 78 fifties in 383 innings.

Faf comes with plenty of IPL experience, including three seasons worth of captaincy experience with Dubai, taking the franchise to playoffs in two seasons. In 145 IPL matches, Faf has made 4,571 runs at an average of 35.99 and a strike rate of over 136, with 37 fifties and best score of 96. Du Plessis, who is also a two-time IPL winner with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was brought by DC for Rs 2 crores during the auction last season.

He will be the deputy to Indian all-rounder Axar, who has been named as the captain for this season. The 31-year-old Axar initially joined the Capitals in 2019 and has since emerged as one of the top-performing players for the franchise across the six seasons with his ability to step up to the occasion. In the 82 matches he has donned the red and blue of the Capitals, Patel has scored 967 runs and picked up 62 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.09. Apart from being a live wire on the field, the all-rounder has also developed a special rapport with the Capitals' and the Indian national team's fans. He is also a T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 winner with Team India and has played a crucial role with both bat and ball in these triumphs.

DC will kickstart their IPL campaign against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Vizag on March 24.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Delhi Capitals KL Rahul Faf du Plessis Axar Patel IPL 2025 Cricket