KL Rahul of Delhi Capitals celebrates his half-century during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka. (PTI File Photo) NEW DELHI: KL Rahul is all set to open for Delhi Capitals in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). The 33-year-old will also don the gloves for the Delhi-based franchise. The veteran batsman initially featured in the middle order last season, but poor returns from big buy Jake Fraser-McGurk forced the think tank to promote him to the top in search of more consistent starts.
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IPL 2026 should be an audition for India’s next T20I captain Rahul batted at No.4 for most of the matches last season, a position decided before the start of the season, but after 11 league games there was a course correction. The change in position reaped immediate rewards as Rahul hit an unbeaten 65-ball 112 against Gujarat Titans. However, it came in a losing cause as the Shubman Gill-led unit overhauled the 200-run target with ten wickets in hand and more to spare.Rahul was the top scorer for Delhi Capitals last year as he scored 539 runs in 13 matches. Rahul’s strike rate was 149.72, which marked his best since the 2018 edition. Delhi Capitals have started their preparations for the upcoming season and several training camps with the Indian players have already taken place in Delhi and Hyderabad. Led by head coach Hemang Badani and director of cricket Venugopal Rao, the coaching staff moved on to the IPL after fulfilling their commitments for The Hundred. More clarity on roles will emerge when captain Axar Patel joins the squad.Delhi Capitals made some smart purchases in the auction. They were able to acquire David Miller and Ben Duckett at their base prices. They have also strengthened their bowling attack with the addition of Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi and Kyle Jamieson.The Axar Patel-led unit had a strong start last season but lost steam after losing at home to Mumbai Indians. The defeat derailed their momentum and some ordinary back-to-back performances pushed them out of the playoff race. The Capitals finished in 5th place when the league stage of the tournament ended.A strong Indian core, quality overseas selections and two top-class spinners in Axar and Kuldeep Yadav make the Delhi unit a team to watch this season. They will be hoping that their strong performance ends their long wait for a first IPL title.
