Veteran Faf du Plessis appointed vice-captain of Delhi Capitals

New Delhi, Mar 17: Veteran batter Faf du Plessis has been appointed as the vice-captain of Delhi Capitals for the upcoming 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The franchise shared the news through its social media accounts on Monday.

“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, I definitely feel happy, and I feel ready,” said du Plessis in a video posted by the franchise on its social media accounts.

The Delhi-based franchise acquired du Plessis at the base price of Rs 2 crore in last year's mega auction in Jeddah. He was released by his previous franchise—Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)—ahead of the auction.

The development means that the Proteas batter will now be a sure starter in DC’s playing eleven and will aid captain Axar Patel in crucial decision-making skills on and off the field. Du Plessis, who captained South Africa in international cricket, led RCB previously in IPL seasons 2022-24.

As the RCB skipper, du Plessis led the team in 42 matches, with 21 wins and as many losses, and the win-loss ratio standing at 1.000. Under him, the side reached the playoffs twice but lost in the Eliminator on both occasions. In the last five years, du Plessis has amassed 2,718 runs in 74 innings of the IPL.

Du Plessis and Axar will work in their respective leadership roles with a new coaching staff at DC, comprising Hemang Badani (head coach), Venugopal Rao (director of cricket), Munaf Patel (bowling coach), Matthew Mott (assistant coach), Kevin Pietersen (mentor), Gnaneswara Rao, and Anton Roux (fielding coaches).

DC will begin their IPL 2025 campaign by hosting Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on March 24. DC are one of three teams, alongside Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, to have never won an IPL title.