Axar Patel has announced KL Rahul’s comeback as an opener for IPL 2026. As the Indian Premier League 2026 season is set to start on March 28, the Delhi Capitals have come up with a major plan concerning KL Rahul’s position in the team. Skipper Axar Patel has verified that Rahul will re-assume his favourite role of opening batsman in this season. Delhi Capitals have planned to kick off their campaign versus Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 at Lucknow, a duel which might dictate their tone for a revamped side. Opening the innings again by bringing Rahul has solved the puzzle. It was because of the team combinations, especially providing opportunities to foreign players at the top, that pushed Rahul last season to play the middle order.
Axar Patel Confirms KL Rahul’s Role for IPL 2026
Axar said that the move was more of a reaction to the situation rather than a planned strategy, as teams usually target middle-order overseas batsmen when there is a heavy spin attack. The franchise, however, has now decided to go for a more stable approach. The decision to bring back Rahul to the opening slot was made easily due to his excellent record as an opening batsman, and the management wanted to steer clear of the uncertainty that had spoiled their campaign last year. Rahul will open with Most Likely with Abhishek Porel or Ben Duckett this year.
Rahul’s IPL Openers Performances are among the Best in the League
Very few batsmen in the IPL can match Rahul’s batting prowess at the top of the order. Along with Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner, Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and Faf du Plessis, he belongs to the exclusive club of players who have amassed more than 4000 runs as openers.
Characterised by the rare blend of being able to anchor innings without sacrificing the scoring rate, Rahul is the kind of player who, through his getting starts, can change the course of a T20 match.
Besides Opening in IPL, Rahul Also Had an Experiment Last Season as a Middle-Order Batsman
Delhi experimented with different opening combinations, including Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk in IPL 2025, which led to Rahul being pushed down to the middle order. The move, however, did not collectively work out, and it left the team struggling for balance. KL Rahul scored 539 runs in 13 matches with an average of 539 runs.
Delhi Capitals Rebuild for the Coming Season
With the main focus being the rise of the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, a clear vision seemed to have emerged in their game plan. With Rahul returning to his familiar role, the side wants to get strong starts from the top and keep on scoring runs till the end of the innings. Last Time Delhi Capitals finished 5th on the points Table.
Probable Playing 11
KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ben Duckett, Karun Nair, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (captain), David Miller, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, and T Natarajan
