India Premier League (IPL) 2023 will kick off on 31st March 2023, with the opening match between defending champions–Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Delhi Capitals (DC) will be missing their previous edition skipper Rishabh Pant services in the 16th edition of IPL. DC in a recent announcement appointed David Warner as their captain for the upcoming season and Axar Patel to be his deputy.
The Delhi-based franchise in the recent announcement-
David Warner has earlier captained Sunrisers Hydreabd side, while Axar Patel will be taking this responsibility first time in his IPL career.
“All set to roar loud this #IPL2023 under the leadership of these two dynamic southpaws,” tweeted Warner.
David Warner ?? (?)
Axar Patel ?? (??)All set to roar loud this #IPL2023 under the leadership of these two dynamic southpaws ?#YehHaiNayiDilli | @davidwarner31 @akshar2026 pic.twitter.com/5VfgyefjdH
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 16, 2023
Warner got appointed as Sunrises Hyderabad (SRH) in the 2015 season, he led Sunrises to their only title victory in the 2016 edition. The 36-year-old was sacked from his captaincy role in 2021 and dropped from playing XI in the same season, he moved to DC in the last edition to play in the IPL.
Patel has performed exceptionally well in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) and was the second-highest run-getter from the Indian side after Virat Kohli, with 264 runs in 5 innings. The left-arm spinner picked three wickets in the BGT 2023.
While the Australian opener returned home after getting injured in the second test match of BGT 2023, he was later ruled out of the series. The southpaw scored 1 & 10 runs in the Nagpur test match and in the second game at Delhi, the 36-year-old found the nick off Mohammed Shami’s delivery and was dismissed for 15 runs.
The Delhi-based outfit had a forgettable outing in IPL 2022. Despite having a solid squad at their disposal, Delhi Capitals could not even make it to the playoffs. With 7 wins and as many losses, they finished the season in the fifth spot. Capitals will be looking to lay their hands on the IPL trophy for the first time when they launch their campaign in IPL 2023.
David Warner-led side will be playing their first game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 1 at Ekana Sports City Stadium in Lucknow.
Also read: IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals Full Squad, New Players, Retained Players And Released Players