Three-time Women’s Premier League (WPL) finalists, Delhi Capitals are set to announce a new captain for the 2026 season on December 23. Under the leadership of Meg Lanning, the team played some incredible brand of cricket but their association ended earlier in the year when Delhi didn’t name her during player retentions. Even though the franchise attempted to re-sign her in the WPL auction, UP Warriorz had the last laugh, buying her for INR 1.9 crore.
As things stand, Jemimah Rodrigues is set to take over the captaincy role as Delhi were determined to have an Indian leader this time around. Co-owner Parth Jindal indicated the same during the WPL auction, and the announcement tomorrow is only expected to confirm what is expected.
“We are very clear we want an Indian as captain. We have our minds made up,” Jindal had said in a mid-auction press conference.
DC’s long-term goal
Jemimah was Delhi’s first-ever buy in the WPL. Ever since she was signed by the franchise, the cricketer was destined to lead the team in the future. Given that she had little experience at that stage of her career, Delhi preferred Lanning over the India international but now that three years have passed, the team management believes that it is the perfect time for transition, which was one of the reasons for not retaining Lanning in the first place, despite her being the leading run-scorer for Delhi.
Notably, Jemimah played 27 matches in the cash-rich league, scoring 507 runs at a strike rate of 139.66. She recently played a vital role in helping India win the ODI World Cup 2025, scoring a century against Australia in the semi-final. Meanwhile, in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Vizag, the 25-year-old scored yet another half-century to secure a eight-wicket win for India.