A New Era Begins: Delhi Capitals face Lucknow Super Giants in the TATA IPL 2025 season opener

Delhi Capitals – re-energised and rejuvenated – kick off the TATA IPL 2025 in a blockbuster season opener against Lucknow Super Giants at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Monday, March 24. With a revamped squad, new leadership, and renewed hunger, Delhi Capitals are ready to roar from the very first ball.

Our newly minted skipper Axar Patel, whose journey with Delhi Capitals began all the way back in 2019, is coming fresh off the Champions Trophy 2025 triumph – alongside the experienced duo of KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav. With the bat and ball, our stalwart Bapu has scaled new heights and now he remains all set to lead us into a new future.

Ahead of the mega auction, we retained Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, and Abhishek Porel. We managed to bring back Mukesh Kumar and Jake Fraser-McGurk, retaining a strong core. Adding firepower to the mix, our exciting new signings – Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Manvanth Kumar and Tripurana Vijay, to name a few – bring a fresh dynamic, injecting flair, depth, and match-winning potential into the squad.

KL Rahul, a man capable of donning any role the team needs, completed his redemption arc with a stellar performance in the Champions Trophy 2025. Also the leading run-scorer in TATA IPL since 2018, Rahul brings firepower, versatility and a range of consistency.

Mitchell Starc, arguably one of the finest fast bowlers of all time, is ready to don the Red and Blue. With 700+ wickets and numerous ICC accolades to his credit, his impact speaks for itself.

The experienced batter Karun Nair and young gun Sameer Rizvi had a stellar outing in the domestic season. While Karun returns for a second stint with the Capitals, DC’s potential debutant for the first game, Sameer Rizvi, adds his firepower to an already explosive batting lineup. Adding even more depth, power-hitters Ashutosh Sharma and Donovan Ferreira further strengthen DC’s batting arsenal.

Two experienced IPL veterans in T Natarajan and Mohit Sharma joined our pace battery. Dushmantha Chameera further strengthens the pace bowling attack, who will also be accompanied by Darshan Nalkande and Manvanth Kumar. Skipper Axar and his bowling partner Kuldeep will lead our spin attack, who will be accompanied by Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, and Ajay Mandal.

Last season, we registered dominant victories over the Lucknow Super Giants. In the away fixture in Lucknow, Fraser-McGurk shone with the bat while Kuldeep’s exploits with the ball sealed a six-wicket win. Back home in Delhi, Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs’ fifties powered us to a 19-run win.

Delhi Capitals' full squad for TATA IPL 2025: