The franchise continues to view Patel as an indispensable core player, having rejected multiple lucrative trade offers for him this season. However, his hesitation to lead comes after a difficult campaign where he managed only 173 runs and 11 wickets across 14 matches, resulting in a sixth-place team finish. To reset the team culture, management has restructured its staff by bringing back Sourav Ganguly as head coach alongside assistant coach Yuvraj Singh.
Key points
Delhi Capitals officials have postponed their final captaincy decision until after next m…: Delhi Capitals officials have postponed their final captaincy decision until after next month's player auction concludes.
The franchise rejected several lucrative trade offers this season to keep Axar Patel on t…: The franchise rejected several lucrative trade offers this season to keep Axar Patel on the team roster.
Friction within the previous leadership group and poor team finishes influenced Patel's h…: Friction within the previous leadership group and poor team finishes influenced Patel's hesitation to remain captain.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
NEW DELHI: As the IPL franchises begin planning for next month's mini auction, Delhi Capitals are in a fix over identifying their captain for the next season. TOI has learnt that incumbent captain
Axar Patel has expressed his reluctance to lead the team after going through two tough seasons.
Sources said that the franchise doesn't want to rule out Axar as captain, but it may take a lot of effort to convince him to continue with the job. Capitals failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last two seasons. While they came close in 2025, the last season wasn't a pleasant one as they finished sixth. Axar suffered a dip in form last year, scoring just 173 runs and taking 11 wickets in 14 matches.
"Axar is very reluctant to continue as captain. The management is trying to convince him. Axar is very important to the franchise. Capitals have turned down multiple lucrative trade offers this season. The management has held back finalising the captain till the auctions are done," a source told TOI.
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