KL Rahul will open for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026: Coach Hemang Badani
Delhi Capitals are set to offer KL Rahul a permanent opening spot in the Indian Premier League 2026 season, the franchise confirmed in its pre-tournament press conference on Monday, March 23. Speaking ahead of their opening game, head coach Hemang Badani and director of cricket Venugopal Rao stressed that DC are looking to improve their top-order issues this season.
Last season, Delhi used seven opening combinations in the IPL. He started with Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk, but the Australian’s poor form forced a rethink. Frequent cuts and changes led to instability, with the team making 13 changes at the top.
This inconsistency affected his debutOften the middle order is left with a lot to do. Speaking ahead of their opening match against Lucknow Super Giants, Badani said that in the last two years, opening partnerships have become a game-changing factor in T20 cricket. Keeping this in mind, he confirmed that the team will retain KL Rahul at the top this season.
Opening combination of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025
- Faf du Plessis – Jake Fraser-McGurk
- Faf du Plessis- KL Rahul
- Abhishek Porel – Karun Nair
- Abhishek Porel – Jake Fraser-McGurk
- Faf du Plessis-Abhishek Porel
- KL Rahul – Jake Fraser-McGurk
- Faf du Plessis – Karun Nair
KL Rahul’s white-ball form
KL Rahul has been released by Lucknow Super Giants After the conclusion of the IPL 2024 season. The franchise bought Rishabh Pant for a record fee, while Delhi bought Rahul to strengthen its batting line-up. Rahul started in the middle-order, but was gradually pushed into the top three last season.
Over the last one and a half years, Rahul has worked on developing his power-hitting game. In IPL 2025, he scored 539 runs at a strike rate of 150 – his best since IPL 2022, when he scored over 600 runs despite a lower strike rate.
Rahul’s improved power game is expected to give DC a more dynamic presence at the top. However, the team will still need to finalize their opening partner with options including Pathum Nissanka, Abhishek Porel and Prithvi Shaw.
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