KL Rahul to interchange this star in Delhi Capitals’ taking part in XI vs SRH

You’d be happy being a Delhi Capitals (DC) fan currently. The franchise, under a brand new coaching staff and ownership alteration, has built a superb roster. Their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign started off with a nerve-wrecking win against their local star, Rishabh Pant’s team. Now, DC’s new adopted star joins the team. KL Rahul has joined and is ready to play in the next match, i.e., against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

The much-awaited clash would be a testing affair nonetheless. The SRH batters would be raring to go at the Vizag stadium, where 420 runs were scored. Before the match starts, let us look at the Delhi Capitals’ predicted XI and Impact sub options.

Who would KL Rahul replace?

Delhi’s top order endured a horrible collapse against LSG. The opening duo of Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis look solid on paper but they had their off day against LSG. The Australian went for a wild hoick, like he usually does, and ended up with a single-digit score. Faf, meanwhile, looked solid but was also dismissed under scoreboard pressure.

The openers remain the same followed by one of DC’s retention, Abhishek Porel. The southpaw adds variety in the top order, being a left-hander, and DC rates him very highly. After a poor show, he will have a great opportunity to get amongst runs. Now, at four, KL Rahul would slot in perfectly. Although he is a well-established opener, Rahul confirmed his desire to play at number four this season. He would replace Sameer Rizvi in the playing lineup against SRH. While Rizvi is an exceptional talent, one has to make way for Rahul, who was bought for a whopping Rs 14.00 crore.

Axar Patel, Stubbs & Ashutosh: Incredible finishers

Rahul’s middle-order partners would be Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs. While Axar, being the captain, has a history of over performing for DC. He’s a bankable four-over player as well. Meanwhile, Stubbs was taken apart by Nicholas Pooran when he smashed the South African for 28 runs in an over. But that may be an aberration. So, we have our top six done. This already covers DC’s keeper and more than four overs of spin.

At numbers seven and eight come the two heroes of the last game for DC. Ashutosh Sharma will be an Impact sub if they bowl first. The 26-year-old finisher pulled off one of the best wins for DC after his magical 66* off 31. That is despite him scoring 20 off his first 20 balls. Earlier, Vipraj Nigam also played a match-changing knock. Despite not being known for his batting exploits, Nigam clubbed 39 off 15. He even took a wicket of Aiden Markram in the first innings. Things could’ve been merrier had Rizvi caught Pooran’s catch off Nigam’s bowling.

DC bowling: Starc, Kuldeep certainties

Moving to the bowlers, the three spots should be fixed for the stars. Mitchell Starc came back after a tough spell with the new ball to take three wickets in eight balls. His pedigree would surely help DC as a bowling unit. Kuldeep Yadav, meanwhile, will ride on the confidence he got against LSG. In 16 overs, six DC bowlers went for 189 runs and took 6 wickets. That’s 11.81 runs per over. Meanwhile, Kuldeep gave away just 20 runs in 4 overs and took 2 wickets. He got Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni. Mohit Sharma remains another pace-bowling option, who would be used as a specialist death bowler.

Mukesh vs T Natarajan

Now, for an extra bowling option, there could be a toss-up between Mukesh Kumar and T Natarajan. It was a bit of a surprise when DC didn’t include Nattu in the XI even after paying him Rs 10.75 crore. However, rumours came in that he might be injured. Having said that, Mukesh Kumar, who’s a capable bowler himself, bowled just two overs against LSG. Unfortunately, Mukesh twisted his ankle while fielding in the first innings.

Now, it would be intriguing to see who DC will go ahead with. Will Mukesh be fit enough to play, or will Natarajan make his DC debut against SRH?

Delhi Capitals’ Predicted XI vs SRH

Batters ft. KL Rahul

All-rounders ft. Ashutosh Sharma

Bowlers ft. Kuldeep Yadav

Note: T Natarajan is here the Impact Player (Batting 1st XI)

DC squad for IPL 2025

Batters: KL Rahul (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk✈️, Karun Nair, Faf du Plessis (vc)✈️, Abishek Porel (wk), Tristan Stubbs✈️, Sameer Rizvi

All-rounders: Axar Patel (c), Donovan Ferreira✈️, Ashutosh Sharma, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Madhav Tiwari,

Bowlers: Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Mitchell Starc✈️, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera✈️, Kuldeep Yadav