Delhi Capitals (DC) was the only team left to announce a captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. With just a few days left for IPL, DC have now announced Axar Patel as their new skipper, replacing Rishabh Pant for IPL 2025. After being released by Delhi Capitals, Rishabh Pant was picked by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) during the mega-auction of the IPL. LSG bought Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crores, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. They also announced him as their captain for the upcoming season Advertisment Axar Patel was retained by Delhi Capitals for Rs 16.50. In his role as T20 captain, Axar has amassed 364 runs at an average of 36.40. He has taken 13 wickets with the ball at an average of 29.07, with his best record being 4-0-13-2 against Baroda during the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. At the 2025 Champions Trophy, where India defeated New Zealand in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Axar was outstanding. Throughout five games, Axar took five wickets at an economy rate of 4.35 and scored 109 runs at an average of 27.25. Watch the video here: A new era begins today 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/9Yc4bBMSvt — Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 14, 2025 Initially, it was anticipated that KL Rahul, whom the Capitals had purchased at auction for Rs 14 crore, would be their captain. But he reportedly declined the offer, and the team ultimately decided on Axar. According to reports, Rahul will not be available for DC in the initial matches for DC as his wife and him are expecting the birth of their first child. Interestingly, DC had another in the name of Faf du Plessis but the went with Axar. Axar Patel's captaincy record Since leading Baroda in 16 T20 matches from 2018 to 2024 and winning ten of them, Axar Patel is no stranger to captaining in the format. He also captained the Capitals once, on May 12, 2024, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). DC was defeated by 47 runs. On Monday, March 24, Delhi Capitals will play the Super Giants at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam to kick off their season.