Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin believes KL Rahul should lead Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 despite Rishabh Pant moving to the franchise in a bumper trade deal. Pant has moved back to Delhi Capitals and he has been traded with Kuldeep Yadav to Lucknow Super Giants.
Meanwhile, Axar Patel has been leading Delhi Capitals in the last couple of seasons. On the other hand, KL Rahul has the experience of leading Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
Rahul has been a consistent performer in the IPL over the years and recently scored 593 runs in 14 matches of IPL 2026 while playing for the Delhi Capitals.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “DC had a very ordinary 2026 season, where they made mistakes after mistakes. Yet, they still ended up in a decent place. There was no need for them to make any change. If you just picked the proper side and have KL Rahul captain, the side would have been in a good place next year because Axar Patel was very average as captain this year. I really don’t understand why they let go of Kuldeep Yadav.”
Ashwin said Pant would be aware of getting captaincy opportunity while moving back to Delhi Capitals.
“DC went till 23 crores even in the auction where LSG signed Pant for 27 crores. So they were always keen on Rishabh Pant. He also captained DC before Axar Patel. The captaincy aspect would have stayed in Rishabh’s head. He would have known that he has a greater chance to captain if he goes to Delhi,” stated Ashwin.
The former off-spinner said LSG won the trade deal as they now have the services of one of India’s leading spinners in Kuldeep Yadav.
“LSG have won the trade because they have 13 crores entering the auction and they now have an Indian frontline spinner. On the contrary, DC have to now decide where Rishabh bats and what his role will be,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).
Pant scored 312 runs in 14 matches of IPL 2026 at an average of 28.36 and a strike rate of 138.05, whereas he could only manage 269 runs in IPL 2025. On the other hand, Yadav bagged 10 wickets in 12 matches for Delhi Capitals in the previous season at an economy rate of 10.30, which is the worst in his 10-year IPL career.
