IPL 2026 is all set to start from March 28. Before the opening day of the tournament, KL Rahul again took the centre of the stage. Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Subramaniam Badrinath raised concerns about whether Rahul is happy in the Delhi Capitals.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction, there were doubts over KL Rahul’s future with the Delhi Capitals. It was believed that the batter could leave the franchise. His name was linked with multiple other franchises like CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Proving the speculations wrong, the batter remains in Delhi.
Former CSK batter makes shocking claims on the relationship between KL Rahul and the Delhi Capitals
Subramaniam Badrinath is concerned for the Karnataka-born’s batting position. Last season, he was the regular opener for the team. As an opener, Rahul amassed 539 runs in just 13 innings in the 2025 season. Still, it is not clear whether the Delhi Capitals will continue with Rahul as a regular opener.
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The former batter feels that the uncertainty over batting position can cause a rift between the experienced cricketer and the franchise. A few days ago, Hemang Badani, the head of DC, said that they had yet to decide Rahul’s role in the batting order, as they have multiple options for the top-order batting slots.
Delhi Capitals’ batting order remains an unsolved puzzle
After realising key batters like Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk, Delhi Capitals crashed in for Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka and England’s Ben Duckett, both of whom are natural openers. If the franchise wants to fit both Nissanka and Duckett for the opening positions, then they will have to drag Rahul down in the batting order.
“Every year, the batting order is their conundrum, especially where KL Rahul should bat. I believe KL Rahul wants to open the innings. But, on the other side, the team management wants him to bat in the middle order,” Badrinath said, speaking on his YouTube channel.
“This seems to be an ongoing conflict. They definitely have to solve this issue. It is unclear whether KL Rahul is happy in DC,” he added.
IPL 2026 can play a pivotal role in Rahul’s T20 career
The upcoming Indian Premier League season is going to be very important for KL Rahul. Despite scoring tons of runs in the league, he remains out of the T20 International squad. For the Twenty20 set-up, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav mostly prefer the emerging talents. Players like Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, and Abhishek Sharma went to play T20Is for India after performing in style in the IPL for their respective teams.
It is believed that if Rahul continues his form, which he displayed in the previous season, then the selectors could again think about the versatile cricketer for the shortest format of the game. If Delhi Capitals prefer to trust Rahul as an opener, then they will have to bench either Pathum Nissanka or Ben Duckett.
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