Delhi Capitals have confirmed KL Rahul will open the batting and keep wickets in IPL 2026. The decision ends a misguided experiment from last season, IPL 2025, when the franchise bought him for INR 14 crore at the IPL 2025 auction, their most expensive purchase, then played him at No. 4 for 11 of 13 games and paid for it, finishing fifth, out of the playoffs.
The IPL 2025 Mistake: Middle-Order Experiment Backfires
Delhi entered IPL 2025 with Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis as their opening pair. Fraser-McGurk, bought at a premium, failed to deliver. Du Plessis was inconsistent. Rahul sat at No. 4, a position decided before the tournament began, while the top order leaked starts.
After 11 games, the team finally promoted him. He scored an unbeaten 112 off 65 balls against the Gujarat Titans in his third outing at the top. DC still lost, Gujarat chased 200-plus with ten wickets in hand and an over remaining, but Rahul’s hundred was the clearest possible argument for why he should have opened from game one.
He finished the season as Delhi’s top scorer: 539 runs in 13 games at a strike rate of 149.72, his best since 2018. Fraser-McGurk and du Plessis were both released ahead of IPL 2026.
The Numbers Behind Rahul as an Opener
Rahul has batted 103 times as an opener in the IPL. He has scored 4,418 runs at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 138.15 in that role. That is 85% of his total IPL tally of 5,222 runs. He has four IPL centuries, joint second among Indian batters alongside Shubman Gill, behind only Virat Kohli.
His peak came at Punjab Kings in 2018: 659 runs, average 54.91, strike rate 158.41. That season also produced a 14-ball fifty against Delhi Daredevils, the fastest in IPL history at the time.
Mohammad Kaif put it plainly: “I think he will open, and he should open only. He has a fabulous record as an opener. A massive change was seen in his batting last year. He improved his game in the power play, and he alone won a few matches.”
Who Opens With Rahul
Delhi have four realistic options to partner Rahul at the top. Ben Duckett, the England left-hander, was picked up at the base price and brings aggression in the power play.
Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka is technically sound and in better recent match rhythm than Duckett, who has had limited competitive cricket lately. Prithvi Shaw and Abishek Porel are the domestic alternatives.
Head coach Hemang Badani and Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao are expected to confirm the combination once captain Axar Patel joins the camp.
What Delhi’s Squad Looks Like Now
Delhi picked up David Miller at the base price, a finisher who stabilises the middle order. The bowling attack has been overhauled with the additions of Lungi Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, and Auqib Nabi.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav remain the spin core. The squad that collapsed mid-tournament in 2025 now has more depth in both departments.
| IPL 2026 Delhi Capitals Squad | ||
| Batters | All-Rounders | Bowlers |
| KL Rahul | Axar Patel | Mitchell Starc |
| Abishek Porel | Ajay Mandal | Dushmantha Chameera |
| Tristan Stubbs | Sameer Rizvi | Kyle Jamieson |
| Ben Duckett | Ashutosh Sharma | Lungi Ngidi |
| Pathum Nissanka | Madhav Tiwari | T Natarajan |
| Prithvi Shaw | Mukesh Kumar | |
| Nitish Rana | Kuldeep Yadav | |
| Karun Nair | Auqib Nabi | |
| Sahil Parakh | Vipraj Nigam | |
| David Miller | Tripurana Vijay | |
Rahul’s Test Form Adds Context
Rahul’s IPL role sits alongside a strong run in Test cricket. He scored 84 in Brisbane on India’s 2024-25 Australia tour, then 137 at Headingley and 55 at Edgbaston on the 2025 England tour, both second-innings contributions when India needed them most.
The former Lucknow captain made his ODI debut in 2016 with an unbeaten century against Zimbabwe, becoming the first Indian to score a hundred on ODI debut.
SUGGESTED READ: IPL 2026 Schedule Announced: 74 Matches from March 28 to May 31
DC Open Against Lucknow on April 1
Delhi Capitals open their IPL 2026 campaign against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1. The Karnataka batter spent three seasons at Lucknow (2022–2024) before DC bought him at the IPL 2025 auction.
DC won five of their first seven games in IPL 2025 before a home defeat to the Mumbai Indians stopped their run. They lost four of their last six and finished fifth. It was the fourth time in five seasons the franchise missed the playoffs.
For more IPL 2026 updates, follow Jeetwin Sports.
