New Delhi: The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season holds significant importance for KL Rahul as the prominent Indian wicket-keeper batter is set to play for Delhi Capitals (DC) after a three-year tenure with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) during which his batting faced widespread criticism. After parting ways with LSG the Delhi-based franchise acquired Rahul for Rs. 14 crore in the 2025 mega auction. Meanwhile LSG made a record purchase of ex-DC captain Rishabh Pant for Rs. 27 crore. With Pant and Rahul swapping teams the upcoming DC and LSG clash promises to be thrilling. The two sides will face off in their opening matches of IPL 2025 on Monday (March 24) at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. However Rahul is expected to be absent for the opening match. Alyssa Healy captain of Australias womens cricket team disclosed that Rahul will likely miss the first two games of the season. Its important to mention that Healy is married to Mitchell Starc who will be playing for the Capitals this year. No Harry Brook (so) it will be interesting to see who the replacement player will be. They have KL Rahul who will probably not play the first couple of games I think... they are awaiting the birth of (their) child but that dynamic is really cool. They have that power in the young guys but they also have a KL Rahul who can stitch the innings in T20 cricket. Hes going to be really exciting to watch said Healy on YouTube channel LiSTNR Sport. Rahul has yet to join the Delhi Capitals camp with only one day remaining before the season begins further supporting Healys statement. Instead the 32-year-old was seen practicing in Mumbai with Indian team assistant coach Abhishek Nayyar. Its also notable that Rahuls wife Athiya Shetty revealed her pregnancy in November. The 2025 season marks the first time since 2019 that Rahul will play without a captaincy role. Prior to his three-year tenure as LSG captain he led Punjab Kings (PBKS) from 2020 to 2021. This year Axar Patel will captain the Capitals with Faf du Plessis serving as vice-captain. DCs former skipper Pant will now lead LSG in IPL 2025.