Kolkata: KL Rahul the ODI finisher has been calmness personified but in the Indian Premier League he is an intriguingly unfinished story. The conviction in playing the batting anchor is laudable, as has been the selflessness in keeping wickets to free up another slot in the playing 11. Quite a few big innings but not enough landmark wins as captain, Rahul’s career has been missing that one defining moment of triumph that leaders are identified with. And so, a journey that has so far traversed four franchises is now checking in at Delhi Capitals, whether or not as captain is not yet confirmed.
As many as five out of the 10 IPL franchises are starting this season with new captains. Rishabh Pant switched from DC to Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping ₹27 crore in the IPL auction, while Shreyas Iyer was picked up by Punjab Kings for ₹26.75 crore. Royal Challengers Bengaluru has entrusted Rajat Patidar for the job while out of nowhere defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders signed the unsold Ajinkya Rahane as captain after breaking the bank ( ₹23.75 crore) for Venkatesh Iyer. Each of these changes are massive in the pretext of how the respective teams fared last year.
DC reportedly wanted to retain Pant, so it was kind of a double whammy to lose both Pant and head coach Ricky Ponting. And while it’s not clear whether Rahul or Axar Patel (who has been vice-captain for some time now) will lead DC, this change of landscape is bound to trigger some jitters. “I feel both excited and a little nervous,” Rahul told JioHotStar. “Every time you step into a new team environment, a lot of thoughts cross your mind, how the players will be, how the owners run the team, how the fans will respond, all of that. So, it’s a mix of emotions.”
What works in DC’s favour is a management that believes in giving time to new faces and ideas. The same, however, can’t be said about Punjab Kings who have gone for yet another overhaul after a dispirited finish (they were 9th) in 2024. Picking Shreyas, who wasn’t retained by KKR despite being their winning captain, and signing Ponting as head coach must be viewed as a coup of sorts. In the context of man management and communication, however, PBKS are up against an unforgiving history that has often seen them being too top heavy. To address that while starting from scratch on every front can’t be easy.
For KKR, the challenge is slightly different considering they had already retained six players from their title-winning squad and bought back six more from the auction. That gave them the look and feel of a unit running on autopilot, with only Rahane parachuted in as the captain. A vastly experienced player, Rahane admitted to not expecting a responsibility of this magnitude. Now that he is here, he wants crystal clear communication to drive the team. “It will be a challenge for us to defend the title. But again, that’s why we play cricket. In this particular format, I feel that you have got to give your best on each and every day,” he said. “As a captain, I expect from everyone good intent, good attitude, and the team always comes first.”
Expecting Patidar to wield a similar pull at RCB would be unfair as long as Kohli remains the face of the team. But by not choosing to go back to Kohli who was the captain from 2013 to 2021 sends a message that RCB are preparing for a future beyond him. That Kohli doesn’t need the mantle of captaincy to be motivated was evident last season when his 741-run aggregate helped RCB win six matches on the bounce after losing seven out of their first eight games. Like MS Dhoni at CSK, Kohli will be the de-facto mentor of RCB. But some calls will only be Patidar’s to take. And therein lies the challenge of not getting swayed easily.
Pant is already under the pump at LSG, knowing well he has to deliver the title to a franchise desperate for validation after a promising start was soured by a seventh-place finish last year. If the parting with Rahul was unceremonious, it was made even more awkward by franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka saying that only those players “who have a mindset to win, who put the team first before their personal goals” had been retained for the 2025 season. To take over the reins in such a landscape, that too for somebody struggling to find a place in the white-ball format now, the stakes can’t be higher for Pant.
