In place of the usual captain Rishabh Pant, David Warner will captain Delhi Capitals in the upcoming 16th season of the Indian Premier League. Pant will miss the entire IPL 2023 due to the severe injuries sustained in the accident he was involved in December 2022, and the franchise would be led by the veteran Australian player instead. Warner has been chosen to serve as captain, and Indian all-rounder Axar Patel will serve as his backup. Axar has been in outstanding shape in all competitions and has been dominating the current Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Being a great all-rounder who contributes equally with the bat and the ball, Axar Patel has made a name for himself. Before the IPL 2022 mega auction, the Sunrisers Hyderabad released him, and Delhi Capitals snagged him for INR 6.25 crore. He performed admirably and lived up to the team’s expectations while playing the opener. Warner scored 432 runs in 12 games last year, including five half-centuries, and faced SRH with his highest score of 92*(58).
Warner has participated in more than ten seasons of the Indian Premier League and 13 different iterations of the competition. Warner also has IPL franchise management experience, having served as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain and guided the team to their first IPL championship in 2016. The franchise has not yet released an official statement. “David will be our captain and Axar Patel will be his deputy,” a member of the ownership group of Delhi Capitals told Cricbuzz.