New Delhi: KL Rahul of the Delhi Capitals may be absent for the teams initial two matches in the 2025 Indian Premier League. The 18th season of the IPL is scheduled to begin on March 22 featuring a game between the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens. The Delhi Capitals will commence their season on March 24 against Lucknow Super Giants in Visakhapatnam followed by a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 30. It is suggested by Alyssa Healy the captain of the Australian womens team that Rahul may not participate in these matches as he is preparing for the arrival of his first child with his wife Athiya Shetty. Healy the spouse of DC player Mitchell Starc shared this information on the LiSTNR Sport YouTube channel. 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 she said. Rahul was acquired by DC for INR 12 crore during the IPL 2025 auction that took place in November of the previous year. Earlier this year the Delhi Capitals named Indian all-rounder Axar Patel as their captain for the upcoming IPL season. The player with the longest tenure on the team who has been with Delhi for six seasons since 2019 is 31 years old and was retained by DC for INR 16.50 crore prior to the major auction last November. Over 82 matches for Delhi he has accumulated 967 runs and taken 62 wickets maintaining an impressive economy rate of just above 7. Although Axars experience as a captain in the IPL is minimal he has previously led Gujarat in domestic competitions such as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy during the 2024-25 season. Earlier this year he was the vice-captain of Indias T20I team. In their recent victory in the Champions Trophy Axar was instrumental claiming five wickets with an economy rate of 4.35. Additionally he contributed significantly while batting at No. 5 amassing 109 runs at an average of 27.25. Axar has taken over the leadership role from Rishabh Pant who left the franchise prior to the major auction. He will now captain the Lucknow Super Giants. The squad includes experienced players such as Rahul Kuldeep Yadav Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Starc in its leadership circle. It will be interesting to observe how Axar maximizes their potential to advance the Delhi Capitals. DC one of the three founding franchises of the IPL that has yet to secure a championship title alongside Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru concluded last season in sixth place with a balanced win-loss record. For the 2025 IPL season a new coaching structure has been established with GMR assuming management responsibilities for both the 2025 and 2026 seasons in accordance with their agreement with co-owners JSW. The support team includes Kevin Pietersen who leads the group alongside head coach Hemang Badani cricket director Venugopal Rao assistant coach Matthew Mott and bowling coach Munaf Patel. Additionally Gnaneshwar Rao Venugopal Raos brother has been added to the coaching staff.