IPL franchise Delhi Capitals have appointed former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis as Axar Patel’s deputy ahead of the 18th edition beginning next Saturday. The Delhi-based franchise announced his appointment on their social media handles.

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"You mean right now? I'm at home, where else would I be? Yes, that's true, I'm vice-captain of DC, and I'm very excited. Delhi's been great, the boys have been fantastic, definitely feel happy, and I feel ready," du Plessis said in a video shared by DC on Monday. 

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Faf led the RCB side for three years - 2022 to 2024, and after being left out ahead of the mega auctions in Jeddah late last year, DC secured his services for INR 2 crore. Faf’s appointment as Delhi’s new vice-captain also secures his place in the playing XI for the impending season. 

Having captained South Africa across formats for most of the last decade and rubbing shoulders with some of the best leaders in the game, including veteran MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Faf’s experience will help Axar in decision-making in his maiden season as an IPL captain.

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Seasoned campaigner at work

Even at the RCB, Faf captained 42 matches across three seasons, with the side winning 21 and losing as many. Under his leadership, RCB made it to the playoffs twice, including last year after beating CSK in a thriller at home, but fell shy in the eliminators on both occasions. Faf has smashed 2,718 runs in 74 matches in the past five seasons as a top-order batter.

Meanwhile, the newly-formed leadership group will work in tandem with the coaching staff, including head coach Hemang Badani, Venugopal Rao as director of cricket, Munaf Patel as bowling coach, Matthew Mott as an assistant coach, Kevin Pietersen as a mentor, and Gnaneswara Rao and Anton Roux as fielding coaches, respectively.

Among the four teams left to have never lifted an IPL trophy, DC has a chance to write history in IPL 2025, where they face off against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their tournament opener on Monday (Mar 24) in Vizag. 

(With inputs from agencies)