IPL 2025: Delhi Capitals fly off to Visakhapatnam for season opener against Lucknow Super Giants

NEW DELHI: After completing their short camp in New Delhi, the Delhi Capitals franchise was off to Visakhapatnam on Monday, their second home base for the opening matches of the upcoming Indian Premier League 2025 season.

Delhi Capitals are prepared to start their campaign on Monday, March 24, against Rishabh Pant’s Lucknow Super Giants at the Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

The players who flew to Vizag today were former South Africa captain Faf Du Plessis, left-arm seamer T Natarajan, veteran batter Karun Nair, fast bowler Mukesh Kumar and young Ashutosh Sharma.

The remaining overseas and Indian players will join the team soon in Vizag as they gear up for the new season.

Earlier in the day, Du Plessis was named as the vice-captain of the Delhi Capitals (DC) team for the 18th edition of the cash-rich league.

DC made the announcement on their official X handle by posting a video in which Faf could be seen talking to someone on the phone, saying phrases like “I am at home,” “Delhi has been great, and boys have been fantastic” to express his closeness with the team. He also confirmed that he “is the vice-captain of Delhi Capitals and is very excited.”

Faf has played 404 T20s so far for his country and franchises across the globe and is still going strong at the age of 40 in leagues all over the world. He has made 11,236 runs at an average of 32.66 with six centuries and 78 fifties in 383 innings.

Faf comes with plenty of IPL experience, including three seasons worth of captaincy experience with Dubai, taking the franchise to playoffs in two seasons. In 145 IPL matches, Faf has made 4,571 runs at an average of 35.99 and a strike rate of over 136, with 37 fifties and best score of 96. Du Plessis, who is also a two-time IPL winner with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was brought by DC for Rs 2 crores during the auction last season. (ANI)