Delhi Capitals have made a clear call on their batting approach for IPL 2026, confirming that KL Rahul will be given a fixed role as an opener in a bid to bring stability at the top.

Speaking ahead of their season opener, head coach Hemang Badani and director of cricket Venugopal Rao admitted that constant changes in the opening combination hurt the side last year. Delhi experimented heavily in IPL 2025, trying as many as seven different opening pairs and making frequent tweaks that disrupted their rhythm.

The season began with Faf du Plessis alongside Jake Fraser-McGurk, but inconsistent performances—especially from Fraser-McGurk forced the team to reshuffle repeatedly. Players like Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, and Rahul himself were all tried at the top, leading to instability and a lack of strong starts.

That constant chopping and changing often left the middle order under pressure, with too much to recover in the later stages of the innings. Badani emphasized that in modern T20 cricket, strong opening partnerships are critical to success, and Delhi is now aiming to build continuity around Rahul.

Rahul’s inclusion at the top is backed by his improved white-ball form. After being released by Lucknow Super Giants following IPL 2024, where the franchise brought in Rishabh Pant for a record fee, he joined Delhi and gradually moved up the order.

Over the past 18 months, Rahul has worked on expanding his power-hitting range, and the results were evident last season. He scored 539 runs in IPL 2025 at a strike rate of 150, his most aggressive and effective campaign in recent years.

With Rahul now locked in as opener, Delhi’s focus shifts to finding the right partner for him. Options include Pathum Nissanka, Abishek Porel, and Prithvi Shaw, as the team looks to finally settle on a combination that can provide consistent starts at the top.